Teen Titans: The Missing Fifth Season
by Aaron Ledgers
Summary: Life became peaceful when the world was saved for the last time... but now the Titans are back in action, and something big is about to happen. Two musical twins with godly powers, terrible pasts, and a bond that runs much deeper than blood have arrived in Jump City. Will they bring new life or will they unleash unholy destruction like a certain fallen Earth Titan? BB/OC & Raven/OC
1. Prologue: Trouble Comes in Pairs

**I claim no rights to DC comics or any of the Teen Titans characters, other than my personal OC's and the writing you are thus reading.**

**Enjoy, and I hope I get some good reviews since this is my first attempt at a fan fiction! :3**

"When there's trouble you know who to call: Teen Titans!  
From their Tower they can see it all: Teen Titans!  
When there's evil on the attack, you can rest knowing they've got your back!  
'Cause when the world needs heroes on Patrol... Teen Titans Go!

"With their superpowers they unite: Teen Titans!  
Never met a villain that they liked: Teen Titans!  
They've got the bad guys on the run! They never stop 'till the job gets done!  
'Cause when the world is losing all control... Teen Titans Go!

"One! Two! Three! Four! GO TEEN TITANS!"

Written By: Aaron Ledgers

Dedicated to: Any Lingering Teen Titans fans

* * *

**Prologue: Trouble Comes in Pairs**

The sun was shining brightly above the desert-like Canyon just outside of Jump City, California: the sky was blue and the air was warm, giving the inhabitants of the area a lulling sense that nothing could go wrong on such a beautiful day. However, they weren't aware that something horrible was already occurring... or even that it was something so bad that it was about to rock their entire world.

"Get away from us!" a small girl shrieked, covering her head with a cry of fright when a huge mechanical body tried to tackle her to the ground; almost instantaneously, her twin brother leapt forward and kicked off the assailant before he gripped her hand and dragged her through the sandstone chasm. The two of them were desperately sprinting towards the safety of the gleaming city since their last hope for survival was resting among the towering buildings: their breathing was ragged, their clothes were torn, and blood trickled from several gashes on their bodies, but for now the twins were alive. However, they needed to get away... they needed to escape the robots that had pursued them for months under the orders of _Him.  
_

They needed help.

Their shoulder-length blonde hair gleamed in the sunlight as they sprinted towards the metropolis with their fingers interlaced, billowing behind them like two clouds of pale gold. Their electric blue eyes were huge and their pupils were dilated, but their irises glittered like sapphires in the surreal light of the canyon.

The twins were terrified of their inhuman pursuers: if they failed to escape now, they would be doomed.

"Now, now, that's no way to treat your new co-workers," a male voice chuckled, making the blondes turn white.

_He_ suddenly dropped down from above and landed directly in front of the twins, causing them to skid on the sand with startled cries and attempt to whirl around: too late, he grabbed the slender arms of both adolescents and jerked them backwards. His eye narrowed sadistically behind his mask as he twisted the girl's wrist behind her back and forced her down on her knees; then he did the same to her brother, who grit his teeth and snarled. The man's metallic armor pressed against their backs as he leaned forward and brought his lips close to the whimpering girl's ear.

She flinched when he blew on it before shivering all over.

"Go away," she whined, letting out another squeak when he twisted her arm. "Eek! Stop, that really hurts!"

"Leave her alone, Slade!" the blonde boy spat, hissing in pain when his wrist was twisted further. "Yowch! Fuck!"

"Please, stop!" the girl wailed, tossing her shoulder-length hair out of her vibrant blue eyes. "You're hurting us!"

"Then you shouldn't have tried running away from me, Angel," Slade sneered as the rest of his robots caught up.

"Her name isn't Angel!" the blonde boy snapped, tensing his shoulders when the man ran a finger across his neck; the feeling of another male putting his hands on him like this was revolting. "Just because we're not—gack!—humans doesn't mean you have to call us by our—gah!—race! And stop doing that already! It's—ack!—it's wrong! Seriously, stop it!"

"I'll call you whatever I want, _Angel,"_ Slade hissed, bringing his masked face close to the blonde boy's ear. "No… better yet, I'll _do_ whatever I want... even if it means taking your freedom, taking your life, or taking away the very essence of your soul. You two belong to me, and there is nothing… you can do… to _change_ that."

"We're not your property, you psycho! We never were!" the girl snapped, but she winced and let out a terrified squeak when he pressed the bladed staff against her throat instead; a thin trickle of blood slid down her neck, staining her shirt even more than it was.

"You will be my apprentices," he chuckled darkly, whipping the blade back into its sheath and shoving the twins forward onto the sand. The blonde girl instantly flipped onto her back and scrabbled away from him, but the masked man was already lunging forward and pinning her to the ground; the blonde boy let out an angry shout as he was held down by a nearby robot.

"Get off of me," she wheezed out helplessly, struggling in vain to get away from Slade. Quite abruptly, the man drew his hand back and slapped the girl as hard as she could; her twin brother's eyes instantly went wide with rage as the sting of his sister's blow seared across his own face. He felt the animalistic rage take over his mind, conjuring up the protective fury.

"I'll kill you!" the blonde boy roared, face twisting up maniacally. "Nobody hits my sister! Nobody!"

Stunned and in pain, the blonde girl could only blink in shock as her ears began to ring from the force of his blow. Then she began to cry, heedless of her brother's animalistic anger and the leering people around her: human or not, she was still only a child and being struck like that had triggered an instinct that couldn't be ignored. So she gave into it and cried.

"Admit defeat, Little Angel," he hissed, hauling back and slapping her again. "Admit who your master is!"

"I'm not your property!" the girl shrieked, still crying her eyes out. "My brother and I won't ever use our powers for you!"

"Won't or can't?" he sneered, hauling back and decking her in the shoulder; the girl saw stars as something in her neck popped and all of her nerves unexpectedly went numb. "I ran those tests for five years, little girl: you and your brother can't even use half of your powers unless you both lose control at the same time... but this time, I came prepared to make you lose all restraint."

"Stop… no more!" the girl croaked when he let go of her and stood up, sneering with that horrible grey eye. Then the young man turned and gestured a few signals to a couple of robots, who nodded and trotted off and out of sight. Because she was temporarily paralyzed by the nerve he'd struck, the tiny girl was completely helpless in the face of the madman's wrath. However, when the sound of three terrified voices split the air, two hearts nearly stopped in synchronicity.

"Ouch! Lemme go, you big moron!" a shrill voice snapped. "Seriously, get your hands—eek! Get off of me! Off! Now!"

"Sir, I must say that you are being quite immoral," a deep voice shakily pointed out. "Please, refrain from hurting them."

"Mister, please stop twisting my arm!" a much younger voice squealed. "It really hurts! EEK! Don't touch me there, it's a very naughty spot! Let us go, please! Mister, why are you doing this to us?! Where are my big brother and my big sister?!"

"I have no—yowch!—fucking idea where they are," the shrill voice hissed, "but the twins had better be okay, otherwise I'm gonna go ape-shit on these fucktards once we get out of here. Don't worry, Saelind, we'll be—eeeeek! Dammit! If you grope my boob again, I'll cut your hand off and shove your nasty fingers down your throat! I mean it, you disgusting lecher!"

"Please, refrain from touching my sisters in such an uncouth manner!" the male voice cried. "Let us go, I beg you!"

The blondes choked and started struggling to move as their three siblings came into view.

Saelind's favorite pink dress was tattered, her short black hair was messy, her large blue eyes were terrified, and she was struggling to hold onto her teddy bear despite the robot's grip on her wrist; Archimedes' hands were pinned against his back with chains, and his dark hair was plastered with blood; and Artemis was wearing nothing but tattered shreds that barely even resembled the mother-like dress she'd been wearing when the twins had last seen her. Her white apron was ripped, her long black hair was tangled, and her bright blue eyes were angry as she struggled and kicked at the machine holding her hostage.

Their family was coming into sight, which meant that something terrible was going to happen: the twins had to get away! They had to escape! However, as if reading their minds, Slade once again straddled the blonde girl's stomach and crushed her wrists into the gritty ground, making her whimper in pain; she instantly bit her lip and closed her eyes, however, in an effort to hide the tears that were streaming from them. She didn't want her brother and sisters to see her crying like this: she was too proud.

"Patrokalos?! Persephone?!" Artemis gasped, face going blank as she took in the twins' battered appearance and glanced at the robots surrounding them; the second their eyes locked, Slade leaned forward and put pressure on Persephone's neck without lowering his gaze from hers. When the incapacitated twin let out a weak cry, Artemis's crystal blue eyes turned feral with rage and she violently began thrashing around, struggling against the robot keeping her restrained with a vengeance.

"My, my, you're very spirited," Slade sneered as his robot held her in place. "You had better behave yourself."

"Let me go right now!" Artemis shrieked, bucking like a crazy bull and letting out an enraged screech. "I'll kill him! I'll kill that disgusting bastard for putting his nasty hands on my little sister! I'll fucking kill him for hurting my twins! He's a dead man!"

"Patty! Percy!" Saelind cried, trying to run forward only to be jerked back. "Ow! Let go of me! I want Bubba and Sissy!"

"Gods above," Archimedes gasped, horrified by both blondes' battered states. "For God's sake, they're only _children!"_

"Arty! Archie! Help!" Persephone whispered, tilting her head back and twitching her useless hand in a futile gesture to ask her siblings for help. Her entire body began to shake as she struggled to move her arms, blue eyes wide and mouth trembling as she reached for them.

When tears involuntarily began streaming into her hair, Artemis went white with rage.

"Let them go!" the raven-haired girl roared, struggling against her restrainer's grip. "Let them go or I swear I'll kill you!"

"Oh?" Slade asked, voice becoming pondering. "My, my… what a bad temper. I guess I'll have to start with you first."

"No!" Patrokalos croaked when the man drew his bladed bo-staff and got up. "Anything but that!"

"Anything?" he sneered, glaring down at the boy with a cocked eyebrow. "Show me your true power and I'll reconsider."

"We… can't," the blonde boy wheezed, eyes dilating as terror clutched his stomach, "unless we're touching."

"Then I guess it's over for your precious siblings," Slade sighed, shrugging his shoulders as though the dire situation was supposed to be a huge pity. Both blondes shook and their eyes shone with tears when their eldest sister was held in place by the robots, arms spread wide with her head held firmly in place. The older girl instantly bristled and spat at the masked man before turning her eyes on her brothers and sisters.

Her blue eyes softened immensely as she gazed at their terrified faces.

"Close your eyes, Darlings," she stated gently as the man drew back his fist. "I don't want you to see the evil of mankind."

"They won't let me close my eyes!" Saelind wailed, shoulders shaking as her head was held forward. Persephone's mind went blank when Slade's staff punctured Artemis's stomach; their eldest sister's face went white and she closed her eyes, full lips pressing together tightly as she fought back a scream. Then the masked man stabbed her again… and again… and again... and when she stopped moving, the two robots tossed her aside like garbage.

Persephone and Patrokalos watched as their sister's body fell to the ground with a shared detached feeling, long black hair swirling and falling across her body like a blanket. They couldn't comprehend what was happening, much less figure out why Artemis wasn't moving or why she was so unnaturally still. Then they heard Saelind shriek, and the twins glanced forward to see Slade grabbing their youngest sister by her curly black locks; the androids instantly backed away and stood at attention, completely ignoring the fact that a little girl was being assaulted in front of them. Persephone twitched and fought to get up from her spot on the ground, desperately struggling to move her paralyzed muscles enough to save her little sister from Slade.

"Hey, little girl, want some candy?" Slade asked, voice dripping with malevolent honey as he held the crimson blade in front of the child; Saelind's blue eyes instantly went round and she mutely shook her head, hugging her teddy bear with shaking arms as the psychotic villain tilted her small face towards his. "Oh, but I think you _do_ want some. Open your mouth."

"No," Saelind whined, shaking her head again as she began crying like a baby. The villain wasn't too pleased, and his eyes instantly darkened with hatred; the twins' hearts flipped when he snarled grabbed their sister's fragile jaw in a crushing hold, jerking it open and making her scream in pain. The little girl instantly fought back and struggled to keep her mouth closed.

"I said to open your mouth," Slade hissed nastily, leaning close before he whispered directly into her ear, "so you had better open your mouth, otherwise I'll cut off your hand and make you eat it… finger by finger. What will it be, little girl?"

Saelind instantly turned white and opened her mouth, standing in place with shaking shoulders as he sneered at her. Then, with delicate movements, he slowly drew the flat of the blade across the ten-year-old's tongue and cleaned Artemis's blood away using her mouth. Saelind winced and tried not to do anything while the blade was touching her, but the hearts of her remaining brothers and sister nearly cracked when tears began streaming down her ashen face. The second he withdrew the blade from the little girl's trembling mouth, Slade chuckled and purposely made a threatening gesture to scare her to death.

"Why?" Saelind bawled, asking everything and nothing all at once.

"Because your brother and sister refused my offer," the man sneered, whipping his bladed staff and slicing the little girl's jugular; Saelind instantly fell back and clutched her throat, struggling to breath and convulsing as blood began to spray from the wound. The twins watched as their sister jolted violently, but only a second later their eyes locked and the blondes froze: their little sister was pleading for help that they would never be able to give… it wasn't too late, but they were helpless.

Then those crystal blue eyes glazed over and Saelind stopped moving altogether.

"What have you done?" Archimedes whispered, trembling all over as his jade green eyes filled with tears. "What have you _done_ to our _family?!"_

"Shut up," a robot stated blankly, shoving him forward onto the sand; the black-haired man instantly turned his fall into a roll and leapt back onto his feet, charging toward the twins and attacking the robots around them even though his hands were bound behind his back. With several swift kicks, he sent Slade and the robots flying and snapped his chains before pulling the twins close to his chest and enveloping their bodies with his strong arms.

They merely trembled violently in his strong grasp.

"Little ones," he whispered harshly when they both clutched at his shirt, "don't hate humanity for this! These vile creatures are not the only humans in the world, and the majority of mankind are not like them! Remember that you are here to protect people!"

"Archie, I want to go home," Persephone whined, clutching his shirt. "I just want to go home…"

"So do I," he whispered; however, he flinched and his dark green eyes went blank as Slade's staff was thrust into his back; he endured the pain of being stabbed several times without letting the twins know what was happening to him, but then he collapsed between them with blood staining his clothes.

Both blondes instantly went white and weakly clutched at his arms.

"Archie?" Patrokalos whispered, blue eyes huge and lips tight with horror. Persephone tried to say something as well, but the words failed her and she weakly remained silent: her mouth felt as though it had been locked shut.

"Captives Terminated," a robot monotonously informed. "The prisoners are dead."

The twins slowly forced themselves to look up at the surrounding robots, but they instantly realized that something wasn't right: when the two of them understood why their stomachs were churning, they jolted violently and their hearts felt like they were being crushed. Persephone and Patrokalos both made an incoherent attempt at saying something aloud, unsurprisingly at the same time, but nothing came out of either one of their mouths. They had been frozen with shock.

Their minds simultaneously went blank as reality came crashing down.

"Dead?" Persephone whispered, trembling coming to a halt as her pupils contracted: memories of the people she and her twin had lost because of what they were resurfaced with crushing force, smothering her consciousness and dragging her back to the pits of hell the two of them used to call a life. Faces, hundreds of them, flashed into her mind and reminded the girl that she was nothing more than a monster. "No, they can't be dead! They're all we have! This can't be real!"

"How could you?" Patrokalos whispered, vacant expression mirroring his sister's. "They were humans... they were humans like _you!"_

"Are the poor little monsters sad about their dead human pets?" Slade quietly mocked, walking over and jerking the twins upright by their glossy blonde hair. "I can't hear you crying, though, so please… cry so we can all hear those angelic voices wailing in agony! Come on, children, you can do it… cry like the babies you are. Look, we're all cheering for you!"

As if on cue, the robots surrounding them let out an automated laugh and monotonously chanted, 'Cry, cry, cry.'

However, when the twins slowly lifted their heads, Slade chuckled darkly and let them go before slowly backing away: their dilated pupils had become so small that they were now virtually non-existent, and they had both gone dead white. The twins' shoulder-length blonde hair began to billow around their faces as silent tears simultaneously began trickling down their bone-white cheeks. As the two of them stared at the canyon wall with unseeing eyes, the sky began to darken with thunderheads that swirled high above the spot they were sitting.

The blondes instinctively stretched out their hands to each other and interlaced their shaking fingers.

"No more," the twins whispered at the same moment, vacant expressions twisting into agony.

The second the soft words left their lips, their large blue eyes dilated and flared with an inner golden light, blonde hair fanning out with a surge of static electricity as they finally lost control of themselves. Both twins threw back their heads and let out a simultaneous wail as a lightning bolt roared down from the sky, lancing a tree on the upper canyon. More deafening cracks and blinding flashes echoed around the canyon as their powers grew, but the siblings were completely oblivious to the damage they were now causing: squeezing their glowing eyes shut and shrieking in pain, they unleashed the fury that God had given their kind long before mankind had become a civilized race.

Tightening their grips on each other's hands as the grip over their godly powers finally slipped, another bolt of lightning lanced down out of the sky with a deafening crack and the robot holding them in place went flying into the canyon wall. It's neck twisted with a sickening metallic crunch only a second before another scream tore from the twins' lips; the two of them instantly pulled each other into an embrace, holding each other close with shaking arms as they cried and ignored the robotic murderers who were stupidly standing in one place.

They would lose total control if they continued touching each other, but they no longer cared.

More lightning bolts lanced down from the sky, complete with a barrage of hailstones the size of tennis-balls: several streams of electricity even snapped out of their bodies and tore chunks of stone from the canyon walls; the earth around them began to quake as the sky above turned green. A swirling vortex soon began to descend, whipping up the sand around their trembling forms and causing even Slade to blink in surprise: a twister was descending around them, yet they were completely unaffected by it.

The twins clutched each other as their blonde hair began to rise and their shredded clothes lifted around their battered bodies: as the tornado descended and sheltered them in the center of its gentle depths, the identical siblings screamed hysterically as their tears began to fly towards the heavens.

They held each other to keep from shattering into a million pieces, for they truly felt as though they would break away into nothingness if they let each other go: that's how badly their loss hurt.

Squeezing their eyes shut as the wind shredded the world outside of her protective cocoon, the twins screamed even louder as their power spiked: their short-cropped blonde hair abruptly flew towards the sky in a rush of gale-force wind, and identical sets of angel wings exploded out of their backs in a shower of golden sparkles. The light was beautiful, yet extremely deadly... for you see, the air around their bodies immediately heated up, and white flames soon ignited.

Lighting bolts ripped the canyon walls to shreds with thunderous crashes; the twister threw trees, stones, the screaming robots, and other projectiles into the rocks hard enough to latch it there; but when the twins looked up and saw Slade smiling at them over his shoulder as he walked away, his indifference was enough to throw them over the edge. Something inside both teenagers abruptly went out and their eyes began to shine brighter than they ever had before. In fact, the luminescence grew to such a powerful intensity that it appeared as though there were beams of light shining several feet away from their large eyes.

The twins threw their heads back and let out inhuman screams that shattered the fabrics of nature: it echoed throughout the entire canyon, reverberating against the stone, ripping through the forests, and rebounding off of the tall, gleaming buildings of the nearby metropolis—making the entire world vibrate with power. People all over Jump City froze in shock and fright upon hearing it, and a sense of impending dread swept through the city's inhabitants: something terrible was about to happen.

The twins took a deep breath as power engulfed their minds and screamed again: long, piercing, otherworldly—the sounds avalanched through the air and made the earth seem to tremble. Pebbles danced on the ground as the very sky began to tingle with static electricity. They took yet another deep breath and arched their backs, letting out a third piercing wail of agony.

This harmonious scream was the worst, and the synchronized power of it tore the fabric of space.

Something no God or Devil had ever managed to do until now.

Darkness began to gather all around as the light spiraled into the tornado, swirling towards the sky and illuminating the godly twins in ethereal radiance. The power of the siblings' scream was taking the very light away from the world, pulling it to them the same way that their mingling powers were pulling the air. Light, Shadow, and Gravity alike spiraled around them as they released an ancient power that had long since been forgotten into the world. Darkness soon fell, sending an utterly impenetrable shadow across the sun and placing the entire world in unbreakable blackness, even in areas with no light: where the bodies of their mortal brother and sisters lay, it was blacker than the deepest of nights.

The light of the world was now swirling around the twins like a twister of luminescence—everlasting night around a vortex of blinding daylight.

Lightning abruptly tore from their bodies and flashed violently across the blackness of the Earth, cracking rapidly in every direction as it lanced out of the colossal vortex: forking, doubling, and flashing over and over again, the lightning exploded in every direction until the air itself seemed to be burning. Thunder rolled throughout the dark countryside, coalescing into a continuous fury and mixing with their harmonious screams of pain, slowly becoming apart of them. The ground shook with the violence of the twins' power, and the wind swirled around their bodies so forcefully that several sturdy buildings miles away trembled helplessly against the gale and sandstone gritted away.

The sound of shattering glass echoed far in the distance.

The twins' fourth scream went beyond sound and changed to something else entirely: all around, the earth cracked open in ferocious, jagged tears and shafts of yellow light shot toward the sky from the chasms in the ground. The golden curtains of light vibrated, danced, and—with gathering speed—were pulled into the tornado and sucked into the twins' bleeding bodies.

There was suddenly a horrific impact to the air when the last of the light was pulled into them.

In a brief—but tremendous flash of light—every single one of the surrounding rocks were stripped of their plants in a huge cloud of green, and the surrounding sand flew back in a colossal wave of tan grit. The sound of explosions and a large amount of shattering glass thundered in the distance, barely heard over the much closer impact. Then, as the twins slowly pulled away and stared at each other with shattered looks, their glossy blonde hair slowly billowed up and lifted towards the sky and they closed their eyes with identical expressions of pain.

Persephone and Patrokalos locked hands and arched their backs at the same time, letting out screams so loud that sound instantly became silence; a wall of colorless energy instantly exploded out of their bodies with a roar, engulfing the world in the radiance of God's power. Only a second later, everything around them disintegrated and was sent flying toward the sky in pieces: trees dissolved as they were torn from the ground, the canyon was reduced to splinters that soon disintegrated into nothing, and the ground itself broke away in the face of their power, exploding into the air and flying away from them in a shockwave of unseen lightning.

Time itself had been Sundered, and the world would end if the flow of power continued to increase.

Quite abruptly, a flash of green light separated the two of them and they went flying out of the twister; seconds later, a curtain of black descended upon the twins' vision, blanketing them in a darkness so deep that they couldn't see any light. The feeling the shadows gave off sent their minds reeling into a land filled with monsters, and the phantoms of those long dead began to appear in their minds again.

As their power finally died away and the darkness receded, the twins collapsed beside each other and stared into the other's blue eyes as their tears stained the sand: they were currently lying on the one spot that hadn't been destroyed by their explosive display of power, but they were so weak they could barely move. However, Percy and Patty were completely unaware that they were lying precariously in the middle of a stone pillar that stood nearly seventy meters in the air: they were right in the center of a circular chasm that stretched nearly three miles in circumference.

Above it hovered Jump City's famous heroes, who watched in horror as the world around them devolved into an unstable hurricane.

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone opened her sparkling blue eyes to find the end of a metal rod in front of her face.

When she blinked and glanced around, she found—to her surprise and utter confusion—that five oddly-dressed teenagers had surrounded her and her twin brother, and they were glaring at both of them with angry eyes. The boy nearest to her was the one holding the staff against her throat, but what shocked her was the fact that he was emanating emotions of positive intent instead of negative.

"Whoever you two are, make the weather stop!" the boy rapped out commandingly; with the roaring noise coming from the storm around them, he practically had to shout for her to hear. After tilting her head back and staring at what was behind her, Persephone realized there was a ringing black dome of power surrounding her, Patrokalos, and the five teenagers.

It was shielding them all from the hail, which was currently pounding against the smooth top as lightning crashed loudly above them.

"Stay away from us!" Persephone croaked, righting her head with a jolt and immediately inching away from the black-haired boy's staff. Her voice shook and her shoulders trembled violently despite her defiant command, and she frantically tried to crawl towards her wide-eyed brother. "It's not us anymore, I swear! We can't do much unless we're touching!"

"I'd have to disagree with that: we saw what happened to those robots. Anyway, take a look outside," Robin retorted grimly, nodding at a very pale girl who was wearing a blue cloak. The hooded girl allowed a section of the dome to disappear, allowing both Persephone and Patrokalos to see the fierce storm that was now raging outside. "Now, stop the—ouch!"

The team leader reeled back with his hand to his head when Patrokalos picked up a large hailstone from the sand and threw it at him, stopping the boy mid-sentence. Taking advantage of the situation, the battered twins scrambled to their feet and made a beeline for the empty space in the dome's wall. However, the wall of the dome immediately filled up again and black power cords sprang from it, wrapping around the twins—who screamed as they were pinned to the black wall.

"Eek! Let us go!" Persephone wailed, frantically kicking her bleeding legs and struggling against the power. The cloaked girl raised one hand warningly as black power rippled across her palm. The masked boy looked livid as he walked over to stand in front of the blonde girl; on the side of his head, the spot from the hailstone was rapidly darkening into a bruise.

"Stop the storm, now!" he roared, and—with a complicated-looking twirl and a swing of his bo-staff—he whipped his weapon an inch from Persephone's face. The girl flinched and turned her head away from the weapon, shaking all over before she managed to take a deep breath and glare at him. After nearly a minute of this, her brother snarled angrily, fangs glinting in the subtle light.

"Leave her alone and hit me, you sadistic jerk! I'm the one who threw the hailstone!" the blonde boy growled, shoulders trembling when his sister began to cry. "After all, you've got nothing else to lose, right? We're stuck here, you're free—and you have four other people to back you up! Go ahead and hit me as much as you want! Just go away once you're satisfied!"

The Boy Wonder made a convulsive movement, causing the blonde girl to flinch and squeeze her eyes shut.

"Robin, I do not think these identical beings will do anything if you threaten them," the girl with red hair timidly piped up, taking a cautious step forward and putting a hand on the black-haired boy's arm; she was hesitant in her approach, almost as if she were afraid to anger him even more than he already was. Because the boy was, in fact, very enraged by the twins' actions.

"Yeah, man, I think you're only scaring them," Cyborg added uneasily.

"Dude, maybe they don't even know how to stop it," Beast Boy remarked. "Maybe the storm was… I dunno, a fluke?"

The second the green boy spoke, the twins whipped to look at him and their faces simultaneously drained of color: for a moment, both blondes truly believed that they were staring into the face of someone evil that they met once before, and that fact sent both blondes into a terrified frenzy. With simultaneous shrieks of terror, the twins began thrashing around like crazy as the panic engulfed their minds.

Their captors balked at the sight of the hysterical reaction, and for a moment they looked baffled.

"No, no, I don't want to go back into the dark!" Persephone shrieked. "Get Doctor Vladmir away from me, right now!"

"Let me handle this," the hooded girl abruptly broke in. "I might be able to stop the storm if I can get into their minds."

Robin paused, then nodded, not taking his eyes off of the panicking twins.

"Azarath, Metrion, Xinthos," she breathed, and a black raven—her soul—rose out of her body.

Lifting its head, it soared towards the twins before splitting in two and plunging into their torsos. There was a strange moment when nothing appeared to be happening, but then the twins' eyes closed as they let out simultaneous moans. The two of them began struggling against the bonds as their faces twisted in pain and terror: honestly, their expressions made it seem as though they were slowly being eaten alive. The Titans watched the spectacle—feeling unnerved by the experience of watching two people squirming and writhing as though they were in an extreme amount of pain; eventually the twins stopped fighting and their faces relaxed.

The two of them opened their eyes at the same time to reveal bright violet irises.

"I took control of their powers," the cloaked girl remarked. "I'm suppressing them right now in order to stop the storm."

The twins' eyes closed again and the weather outside immediately began to lessen. As the hail stopped, the lightning dissipated and the clouds faded—revealing the sun shining brightly in the clear blue sky once more. In a trice, Raven's soul self left the twins' bodies and dove back to her own. The black dome abruptly vanished, and the blondes fell to the ground like identical sacks of potatoes.

As her soul self returned, the cloaked girl gasped and her violet eyes flew open.

She swayed slightly where she stood, breathing heavily.

"Raven!" the green-skinned boy cried; he was at the cloaked girl's side in a second, slipping an arm around her waist to support her as her knees buckled. His voice was edged with worry as he peered up into her face. "Rae, are you all right?"

"Yes, but those two… they put up one hell of a fight to keep me from seeing their minds, and I regret to say that they won it simply because their combined efforts drained me," the Empath wearily replied. "They're much stronger than I thought they were, and their powers are completely… uncontrolled. These twins are very, very dangerous… in fact, from what I saw of their inner minds, they're not even _human."_

"Uh…" the green-skinned boy droned as the Titans looked at the blondes, who lay limply on the sand. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that today's supposed to be the last day of school, right? That way they won't get in trouble for missing anything."


	2. Chapter 1: 'T' is for 'Terror'

**Chapter One: 'T' is for 'Terror'**

When his electric blue eyes snapped open, the first thing Patrokalos saw was a metal ceiling with a single bulb dangling in the very center of it: the walls were smooth and unmarked, and there were no blemishes or chips in the gleaming metal. The boy slowly sat up and rubbed his aching head, but after looking around and spotting his sister sprawled out across the floor, he very nearly had a heart attack.

His eyes went wide when he saw she wasn't moving and a sickening jolt of terror ripped through him.

"Percy, wake up!" he cried, crawling over to the blonde girl and shaking her shoulders. "Come on, sis, wake up!"

"Ugh, what happened?" the girl mewled, groggily opening her big blue eyes and blinking up at her brother. However, her eyes instantly widened and she frantically clutched his face with both of her small hands. "Patty, what happened to you?! Why are you all beat up and why… oh, god… please, tell me all of that didn't really happen… I… I-I thought I was dreaming."

"It's real," the boy whispered, eyes slowly filling with tears. "Artemis, Archimedes, and Saelind are…"

"This has to be a nightmare," the girl whined, sniffling when her brother pulled her into a hug. "This can't be real!"

"Personally, think it is real," Patrokalos stated, rubbing his sister's back as he took in his surroundings; when the blonde boy noticed that they were inside some sort of prison cell, his heart immediately began to thump in fear and he clutched his sister more tightly, wildly glancing around as he wondered whether or not the masked man had finally caught them again.

This didn't look like it was a part of _The Facility_ though.

The four walls were made of metal, as well as the floor and the door—which had no noticeable doorknob or buttons. The only furniture was the cot, a metal table, and two metal chairs built into the floor on opposite sides. What made it even worse was the fact that there were no windows or airways, which gave the room a horribly constrained feeling. The boy closed his eyes as his heart palpitated: maybe his sister was right and they were dreaming… maybe they'd blacked out in the canyon from shock.

The last thing he could remember was him and his sister losing control of their powers.

Wait… then he remembered a black dome, and five odd teenagers with hard expressions. The masked boy yelling and threatening his sister. The black raven entering their bodies. The mental struggle between his sister, him, and the hooded girl as they fought for control over their minds. Then the strange girl had won and taken control… she had done something by diving into the link between Patrokalos and Persephone; after that the black raven had left, and they had blacked out.

"This place looks completely sealed," Patrokalos finally explained to his sister. "I think we're stuck in here."

"There's no way to get out?" Persephone wondered, flipping her much-too-long sleeves up to reveal her small hands.

After flicking her blonde hair out of her eyes and shakily standing up, the frail girl padded over to the door in her stockings since she and her twin brother had run their from home with no shoes on. With her eyes and fingers, she explored the metal inch by inch to no avail. Her brother watched for a moment, then decided to get up and join her: after searching the walls for any sort of blemish other than the door, the two of them realized that there was no way to get out. The twins instantly rushed over to the nearest corner and embraced each other, shivering all over: they were trapped with no windows and no fresh air.

"We're trapped again," Patrokalos whispered, shaking as terror rose inside of him, raw and wild—clawing up his throat and strangling him; with a burst of energy, he and his sister got up and began slamming the door with their fists, both of them terrified of the situation they had been put in. "Let us out! Someone, please! We can't stand being locked in small areas!"

"Please, let us out!" Persephone cried, joining in with her brother's terrified shouts. "We're _claustrophobic!"_

As the two of them continued pounding on the door, they both felt a sudden blast of energy shooting down their arms and surging into their fingertips: a quiet shushing noise filled the room as water exploded into existence. The twins froze and stared in shock as the water swirled in shimmering streams to the back of their wrists and began forming glistening pillars. Persephone gasped when the liquid pillars attached to their skin and froze into solid blades of ice: stunned, the two teenagers stared at the swords sticking out of their sleeves before glancing at each other in shock and surprise.

"We didn't do that while we were touching," Patrokalos noted, looking confused. "Is there more to our powers?"

"There's only one way to find out," Persephone warily replied, shrugging a bit as she continued to stare at the ice shards that had somehow attached to her pearly skin. The twins slowly made their way over to the door again and found the seam where it disconnected from the wall. After attempting to slide the blade through the crack, she found that the shard was too thick to slide into the space. Breathing in, she intently focused on the swords jutting out of her wrist bones: as she did so, something sparked on her hand and traveled up the blade before the ice shard morphed into a razor-thin blade instead of a thick one. Patrokalos abruptly swallowed and stared at the sword on his sister's hand, turning a little pale before he blinked.

"That was a little scary," he commented, glancing at his sister's face only to find that she looked more spooked by her abilities than he felt. "Then again, it seems like you're already aware of that. Sorry for stating the obvious."

"N-no problem, bro…" the girl peeped, shivering as she slid the thinner ice blade into the crevice. "Let's just get out of here already."

Her brother's face scrunched for a moment and his blade also became thinner, and he mirrored his sister's movements by sliding the ice into the opposite crevice. The twins tentatively focused their minds and sent more of their energy surging into the blades in an attempt to make them expand into something huge. Light exploded from their wrists with a flash of wind and the twins jumped back, covering their faces as an explosion rang in their ears. When the blondes looked up, the metal door was on the ground and they could see the wall. Tentatively, the teenagers gripped each other's hands and stepped out of their prison, expecting something terrible to happen like a bomb exploding beneath their feet.

However, nothing happened.

"Odd, I was expecting some sort of alarm to go off," Patrokalos noted, hand tightening on his sister's. "What about you?"

"I was expecting our legs to get blown off by a mine or something," Persephone admitted, glancing up at her brother with sheepish blue eyes. "We should get going before someone really tries to capture us, though. I'm tired of everyone trying to use our powers for their own twisted ideas, and I think we need to find someplace where we can live happily for a long time."

"I kind of agree with you," the boy sighed, tiredly rubbing his eyes, "but, honestly, I want to find a way to make people stop attacking us more than I want to live happily ever after. I mean, if they could just understand how we feel, maybe we wouldn't need to hide from humanity anymore. Just because we're not human doesn't mean we're monsters… we have emotions, we have morals, and we have dreams just like they do! The only difference is that we have powers and we'll live forever, that's all! Even then, we're still only fifteen years old right now: we're just two kids who don't have any place to go, and on top of that we haven't done anything wrong or broken any laws! We have absolutely no grudges against mankind like a lot of other races do, and personally, I just want to live in peace! I want them to understand us!"

"But how can we make them listen when they refuse to even try?" Persephone inquired sadly. "What can we do?"

"Maybe we could try singing?" her brother offered, shrugging. "Artemis once said that humans are very fond of people with good voices, and the gift of Song is something that our kind wields naturally. Maybe if we sing what's in our hearts, they will listen to how we truly feel… but right now, we have to get out of here, so we'll make plans for the humans a bit later."

"This is real, Patty," Persephone murmured sadly, weakly leaning her head on her brother's shoulder. "This is real, which means that our human siblings actually died because of us. They were killed because we trusted a human with our secret, so it's actually our fault they're gone right now! It's not mankind's fault, it's ours: they died because we trusted a bad person."

"No, it's not our fault, it's mine," the blonde boy whispered, hanging his head. "I was the one who believed Slade would save Maki, so I'm the one who will take responsibility for the lives he just took. I'll mark myself with a demonic symbol: my skin will burn and sting forever in the place I carve it… but I think that's a very fit punishment for an angel who caused the death of his own kin."

"Don't!" Persephone squeaked, clamping down on his arm with a look of horror. "They wouldn't have wanted you to suffer because of them! Even though they were humans, they loved us! What happened was terrible, but if you do that to yourself then I will, too! We're in this together, Patty: from the moment we were born holding each other's hands, we've been though everything together, and I swear on our family's graves that I will never, ever let you endure any more pain all alone!"

"Let's focus on getting out of wherever this is before we make any vows," Patrokalos sniffled, although his sister couldn't help but notice that he looked very relieved and happy by her pledge all the same. Feeling slightly more confident, the twins stepped around the metal door and looked around anxiously. The two of them were now standing in a long hallway with plain gray walls and a few odd-looking doors on either side, but at the moment there was nobody to be seen.

Hopefully it would stay that way until they escaped.

**TXXXXXT**

Robin sighed as he walked down the hall, pondering the situation he had found himself in: he and his friends had witnessed the murdering of two girls and a boy by the hands of what _looked_ to be Slade's robots, but what's more was the fact that those very same robots had all been destroyed by the twins when they'd had lost control of their powers. Frankly, if Raven had admitted that the two of them were dangerous, he wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to handle the situation. He figured he would have to interrogate the twins sometime soon, since they were most likely going to wake up soon, but right then he was procrastinating since he had no backup plan: he needed one just in case things turned out for the worse.

The Boy Wonder walked into the camera room to find Beast Boy—who was supposed to be watching the twins—lying fast asleep in the swivel chair.

"Beast Boy!" the leader shouted, face becoming angry and shocked: the changeling woke up with a startled yelp, then cowered when he saw his furious leader standing over him. "What are you doing?! You're supposed to be watching them!"

"Watching them sleep was boring, though, so I nodded off for a bit! I mean, nothing happened, see?" the changeling protested, gesturing at the screen with a triumphant expression: however, the twins were gone from the room and the door was in the hallway, which made him pause. Robin glared at Beast Boy, who grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oops."

"Whatever, we need to take care of the problem and fix it," the Titan leader sighed, not even bothering to continue yelling at his green-skinned friend; instead, he took out his communicator and snapped it open with a growl. "Titans, I need your full attention right now: the prisoners are loose in the Tower. Find them at all costs and use force if you must. Robin out."

Without another word to Beast Boy, the team leader dashed out of the room.

**TXXXXXT**

"Patty, this place gives me the creeps," Persephone muttered, clinging to her brother's strong arm with a highly disturbed expression on her face. "Seriously, the halls are like the neighborhood in that movie _The Poltergeist_: they all look the same."

"I know," Patrokalos agreed, trying to act bravely so his sister wouldn't be more afraid than she already was. "Just keep going and ignore the fact that everything is spooky and dark, okay? We need to get out of here before they find us both."

"Well, I'm following you," the blonde girl snorted, clinging even more tightly to his arm. Patrokalos and Persephone tiptoed nervously down the halls without a sound, carefully looking down each corridor before they even considered going down them. They hadn't seen anyone yet, but that didn't mean _they_ couldn't be seen since there were bound to be a whole bunch of cameras in such a high-tech place.

Hence why the two of them were so timid about walking around like this.

"I think I heard something," Persephone suddenly whispered, making her brother freeze.

"What is it?" Patrokalos whispered back, blue eyes flashing around in the darkness. "I don't hear anything…"

"Shhh…" the blonde girl urged, eyes large and full of fright as she listened. "I don't know what it is, but it sounds like a really quiet thumping. It sounds almost like footsteps… but it's heavier, and different than a normal human's… somehow."

"I would say that you're imagining things," Patrokalos stated, glancing around, "but you're usually right, so I won't."

"Yo, there you are! Stop right where you are!" a male voice suddenly shouted, rifting the silence; the twins simultaneously jumped into the air with involuntary squeals of fright and whirled around to see a mechanical man sprinting toward them from the other end of the hall, shoulders lowered like a football player with his face locked into a frightening expression. Letting out nearly identical screams of terror, the blondes spun around and bolted down the hall: as usual, Persephone had been right.

"Run for it, Percy!" Patrokalos yelled, gripping his sister's hand as they sprinted. "Run, run, run!"

"Patty, where do we go?!" the blonde girl wailed, sounding utterly terrified. "Where do we go, where do we go?!"

"I have no clue! Just run and don't stop for anything, got it?!" her brother shouted, pulling his sister around a corner and sprinting down another hall.

As they bolted past countless doors with their blonde hair flying, the twins began to cry when they heard Cyborg running after them—still shouting loudly and terrifying them even more than they already were. His heavy footsteps reverberated through the carpeted hallway, drowning out their frantic heartbeats and filling their ears. Persephone and Patrokalos dashed around another corner and bolted down the until they came to a dead-end with an elevator. The blonde boy smacked the elevator button until the doors opened, and the twins struggled inside before jerkily pushing the button to close the doors. Through the gap in the elevator doors, Patty and Percy could see the cyborg standing in the hall: he'd paused a good deal away, but now he had his arm pointed at them with his natural eye closed.

They blinked in confusion: there was a swirling blue light emanating from a wide hole in his arm, right in the spot where his hand was supposed to be.

The second they realized he was aiming some sort of weapon at them, the twins blanched and cowered against each other with terrified expressions, squeezing their blue eyes shut and burying their faces in each other's shoulders. However, just as they'd huddled down and prepared to take whatever blast was coming, the elevator doors abruptly closed and the robot disappeared before he could fire.

Both twins nearly melted into a puddle of relief.

"I thought we were going to die," Persephone sobbed, burying her face against her brother's shredded shirt as she began to cry hysterically. "I really did! I thought we were goners! Why is everyone trying to hurt us now?! What did we do wrong?!"

"I don't know," Patrokalos whispered, eyes filling with tears. "All I know is that we have to get out of here."

"Someone, help us," the blonde girl whined.

Cyborg, meanwhile, slowly lowered his sonic cannon as it changed back into his normal arm: he'd had the perfect chance to incapacitate the twins, but he'd hesitated because of the way they'd reacted when they'd realized what he was about to do to them. The expressions on their faces had made him feel like a monster: both blondes had looked terrified and trapped—like two small, helpless children who had unexpectedly been caught in the headlights of a semi-truck. He was getting way too soft if he had faltered over a few frightened looks, and he seriously hoped that Robin wouldn't find out that he'd let the prisoners get away.

He couldn't say that he'd let them go simply because attacking them felt like the wrong thing to do.

His leader would blow a blood vessel.

Meanwhile, still badly shaken by their encounter with the robotic man, Persephone and Patrokalos ran out of the elevator when it hit the next floor and darted down the hall like a pair of spooked rabbits. The building they were trapped in was honestly like a labyrinth that held confusing twists and turns, and merely moving down the halls was making both blondes extremely dizzy.

"Ack, look out!" Patrokalos suddenly cried, skidding to a halt with his sister when the hooded girl from before slid through the ceiling and appeared right in front of them, looking like a wraith from a horror movie. However, what made the twins go nuts was the fact that her eyes were glowing white and her dark blue cloak was billowing behind her, making the pale girl look like a witch. With simultaneous screams of fright, Patrokalos and Persephone whirled around with the hopes of running away from her—but they halted when they saw that the redhead had flown to the opposite end of the hallway, blocking their only escape route and causing the blondes to panic. Her eyes began glowing green as a matching light engulfed her hands.

"Don't move a muscle," the hooded girl ordered flatly, rapidly lifting her palms.

"Please, just leave us alone!" Patrokalos cried, looking between the Empath and the alien with wide eyes: the hooded girl ignored him and created a black hand of power while the redhead readied her glowing green light. Just as the 'hand' shot forward and the green energy was released, Persephone jerked her brother off balance and leapt to the side, sailing through an open set of doors with a shriek. The two powers crashed into each other instead of hitting the twins, creating an explosion that sent the Titan girls flying backwards; both of them hit the ground at opposite ends of the hallway.

The twins scrabbled to their feet and ran through another open door, finding themselves in the entrance hall to the Tower.

Persephone chanced a look over her shoulder to find that nobody was following them, but then the doors burst open to reveal Robin—which made her heart leap into her throat. Fear bloomed inside the blonde girl's chest as she grabbed her brother's hand, whirled around, and sprinted towards the exit with a terrified sob. Her brother's grip tightened on her own as they fled toward what they hoped was the last set of doors, but when the twins pushed them open and bolted outside, they skidded to a halt with hysterical shrieks when they were faced with a giant green Tyrannosaurus Rex.

It was Beast Boy in his best form.

"You've gotta be _kidding_ me!" Patrokalos cried, ducking his head with a freaked expression when the dinosaur's spiked tail went flying at them. "Holy shiitake mushrooms! Persephone, come on! Run between his legs and head for the water!"

"I can't move!" the girl squealed, bursting into tears when she tried to get up and failed. "My legs won't work anymore!"

"Dammit!" the blonde boy cried, grabbing his sister's arms and swinging her onto his back. When she clamped her arms around his neck and began to cry, he understood why her legs wouldn't respond anymore: her muscles were shaking too badly from the terror she was experiencing. When the green dinosaur roared and snapped at the twins, Patrokalos dodged and darted between the T-Rex's legs as his sister shrieked, ducking to avoid the tail it swung again. The dinosaur snarled and attempted to bite them as they passed through his legs, but it missed and flipped onto its back. Robin growled under his breath as the twins bolted toward the dock, but then he jumped over the dinosaur's tail and sprinted after them in frustration.

Patrokalos ran down the island toward the docks, dirt spraying beneath his tattered socks as his sister sobbed and shook on his back. Skidding to a halt, the tall boy stopped at a small ledge adjacent to the water: in front of him was the Bay, and the waters stretched out for hundreds of yards before coming to the city boardwalk. He didn't know if he could swim that far in salt water with so many cuts and wounds on his body, especially if he was carrying his sister.

"You there! Stop!" Robin shouted, sprinting toward the two battered blondes. He took out three explosive discs without thinking and flung them at the twins, who had stopped fleeing and were currently staring at the water with terror-stricken expressions on their faces—obviously deciding whether or not to swim or defend themselves. The blonde boy turned around just in time for him and his sister to be hit by the fiery shockwave: there was a loud crack and the twins were thrown backward towards the water. The girl let out a hysterical scream, the boy let out a hysterical shout, and then both of them disappeared from view as they went flying into the waves in different areas. Which was bad, considering they couldn't swim all alone.

Patrokalos automatically tried to take in air only to have burning salt water fill his nostrils, cutting off his oxygen and making him choke beneath the waves. Blue eyes frantic to find his twin sister, he flailed around in the ocean as his chest began to burn from lack of air. He glanced toward the surface and struggled to swim to it, but he was too weak to move.

His lungs burned and his eyes stung as he wondered whether or not his sister was okay.

The choking liquid pressed in on Persephone from all sides, making her movements sluggish as she struggled to swim up to the surface. Her chest was burning and her eyes were stinging like crazy, but she was desperate for air and even more so to find her brother before he drowned. The two of them couldn't swim because they didn't know how, and moving when they were in the water took double effort if they were alone: they could only breathe underwater while feeling certain emotions. However, she was too weak to find the surface, and her struggles slowly began to grow weaker as darkening spots flashed in front of her big blue eyes, making it hard to see anything.

Finally, she stopped struggling altogether.

Patrokalos and Persephone slowly sank underwater, arms stretched arms out with no energy left: they were both facing the surface in the same position, even though they were no longer anywhere near each other. Their pale, reddish-gold hair swirled around their pale faces, flashing like molten platinum as it drifted in front of their dazed blue eyes. Staring up at the flickering shafts of sunlight with hazed vision, both twins watched as the faint rippling above grew dimmer, fading away by the second.

Memories of their life together surged into their awareness as they slowly closed their eyes.

Persephone's head lolled as something hot and hard gripped her around the middle, viciously jerking her backwards; after a few moments, her hazed mind began to flicker with life once again and the girl remembered she needed to breathe. Electric blue eyes snapping open wide, the blonde girl clutched at her throat and began to flail around as something pulled her through the stinging waves.

Then her head broke the surface and she took a deep, ragged, painful, and absolutely wonderful breath of fresh air.

However, she yipped when something jerked her to the side, cracking her ribcage with the force of the tug: a few seconds later she was being dragged on land with her brother; she lay on her back and blinked dazedly at the sky while her brother coughed up his lungs. Only a second later, she also had a burning coughing fit and was forced to roll on her side as the water was expelled from her lungs. The twins coughed and choked hysterically for several minutes as the water came up, but the second their vision cleared, the blondes were treated to the sight of the masked boy's face looming disturbingly close.

They were so startled by his appearance that Persephone burst into tears and Patrokalos nearly fainted.

"EEK!" Persephone shrieked, flailing her arms and smacking him in the face by accident. "Patty, help! Get him away!"

"I just saved your life!" the boy hollered, straightening his mask when she scrabbled away from him and hysterically clung to her twin brother, who pulled her close and shakily held her face against his chest. However, the crying twins let out terrified screams when a huge pair of mechanical arms clamped down on them from behind and separated them from each other.

"Let us go!" Patrokalos wailed, frantically kicking around when he was lifted off the ground. "Dammit, let us go!"

"Yo, don't move another muscle," a deep voice grumbled. "And watch what you're doing with those legs, man!"

"At least do it quickly, okay?!" the blonde girl sobbed, breaking down when the redhead and the cloaked girl dropped down out of the sky with the green boy in tow. "I'm begging you! Don't make it hurt too much, please… my brother and I don't like being in pain, regardless of what you humans seem to think! We've had too much pain, so please, just do it fast!"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Robin scoffed, cocking an incredulous eyebrow as the rest of the Titans blinked in surprise and confusion. "Would you care to explain what you mean by that, please? I'm afraid we're not exactly... following."

"Huh?" Persephone whined, looking up at him with terror-stricken eyes. "You mean you aren't going to kill us?"

"K-kill you?!" Robin squawked, looking utterly dumbfounded; Raven snorted and immediately covered her mouth, Starfire went white in shock, Cyborg fought back a snicker, and Beast Boy merely scratched his head in confusion.

"Why would we want to do that?" the changeling asked, moving closer and leaning towards the girl's face. Persephone flinched and turned her head away from the changeling the moment Dr. Vladimir's face flashed into her mind: this boy had green skin and green eyes, but he looked like the man who had ruined their life. She instantly began to tremble, irrationally fearing that he would hurt her in some inhuman way; the cloaked girl seemed to notice her reaction, but she said nothing.

"Why do you think we're trying to kill you?!" Robin repeated, still looking a little stunned.

"Well," Patrokalos retorted sourly, angrily beginning to recite their wrongdoings, "considering the fact that my sister and I were kidnapped, nearly blown to bits by a Cyborg with a gun for an arm, attacked by two frightening girls with superpowers, nearly crushed by the jaws of a T-Rex, and blown into the ocean by a masked kid's _Frisbee Grenade_, why don't you tell me?"

"Dude, we didn't kidnap you!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "And that was all just a plan to stall you!"

"Well, that plan almost got us killed," Patrokalos snapped, flinching involuntarily when the boy scowled at him.

"Friends, we must do the talking in a more pleasant manner," the redhead exclaimed, hovering forward and landing in front of the twins with an apologetic smile. "New Friends, I must do the apologizing for causing you such a tribulation. We are merely… what is the word? Oh, yes—alarmed, by the destruction of the Canyon, so we must now evaluate your powers."

"E-evaluate?" Persephone asked, sniffling as the cyborg let go of her and allowed them to step forward. "Are you going to try and make us use our powers?! Are you going to experiment on us?! No, not again! Don't hurt us, please! We'll be good!"

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Robin immediately soothed, lifting his hands when the blonde boy pulled his sister close and held her against his chest in a protective embrace; his blue eyes were extremely hostile. "Look, there's no need to glare… we won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, okay? However, you need to tell us what was going on before you lost it. We saw a little of it, but there were several human bodies in the canyon… some of them were men who work for the Marines."

"They were after me and my sister," Patrokalos weakly explained, hugging his twin. "You see... well, we're not exactly normal human beings, and someone figured out what we were along with what we could do, and because of that... the government wanted to test how strong our abilities really were. We didn't want to use our powers for them, but they used... leverage over us... and still dragged us away… but then they…"

"We managed to escape, but they tried to kill us when we broke out of the facility," Persephone finished with a sniffle, rubbing her eyes. "After that, we were adopted by Artemis and Archimedes... but _He_ found us, and Patty and I got lost when we ran away. We wandered around until we ended up in Jump City. When we found an abandoned apartment building, we stayed there."

"Artemis and Archimedes?" Robin asked, frowning in puzzlement. "They wouldn't happen to be…"

"Dead?" Persephone filled in, fighting back tears as she buried her face in her brother's shirt. "Yeah… they are."

_"He_ killed them," the blonde boy finished, looking like he was ready to cry as well.

"Whoa, hold up," Cyborg suddenly stated, catching the attention of the group. "Something about that sob story doesn't sound right to me. How do we know whether or not you're lying to us? I mean, you could be saying that to gain our sympathy!"

"We don't know you, so why would we want you to feel sorry for us?!" Patrokalos snapped, whirling around and glaring at him with eyes full of tears. "All I want to do is leave before he and the military can find us! So, just stop being so self-centered and leave us the hell alone!"

"Who is this 'he' you both keep mentioning?" Robin suddenly asked.

"All we know is that he calls himself Slade!" Patrokalos spat, flicking his sopping wet hair over his shoulder and glaring at the ocean.

The name seemed to have an instantaneous effect on the group: every single one of them became hostile towards the twins until the masked boy held up his hand and shook his head. For some reason, they seemed more shocked by his interference than the blonde boy's response. Just as the masked boy opened his mouth to say something, a faint buzzing suddenly echoed from the tower and the group of Vigilantes glanced up at the windows to see red light flashing in a rhythmic way; almost simultaneously, several musical ring-tones piped up from the belts of the five teens.

The boy immediately pulled out his communicator and scowled.

"Titans, there's some sort of trouble in the slums," he stated, glancing up at them.

"What do we do with them?" Raven demanded, shooting a glare at the blondes, who flinched in reply.

"Let them do what they want: it's not like they can leave the island. You just saw it for yourself: they almost drowned a few minutes ago, which means that they can't swim," Robin retorted, then shouted, "TITANS, GO!"

The twins watched as all five teenagers either flew or ran away.

"We have other ways of getting around, you know," Patrokalos called, frowning when he realized they'd been so naive.

"What's going on?" Persephone wondered aloud, sniffling as she watched them go. "Why did they leave like that?"

"I dunno, Percy, but I'm curious enough to try and find out. Plus, I don't want them coming after us, and I know these weirdos will try it if they come back to find that we've disappeared," Patrokalos stated thoughtfully, cocking his head and staring after the teenagers. "Hey, do you think we could use our powers to jump really high since we can't use our wings yet? I remember Dr. Vlad saying we'll be able to summon them during our full awakening, but since we obviously can't use them... do you think we could find an alternative way to get around using compressed air?"

"I don't exactly know," the blonde girl replied, "but it's worth a shot. Maybe if we use our minds to compress the air and let it go once it's tight, we can jump really high… but then again, that's only a theory and it might not work in this situation."

"Let's hope it does," Patrokalos sighed, glancing at his sister fondly. "Now all we have to do is sing."

Closing their eyes, the twins clasped hands and took a deep breath, harmonizing their souls and letting their emotions flood into each other. With a radiant glow that left the world tingling with life, the angels opened their mouths and began to sing without using words. Their voices interlaced with each other and harmonized in a surreal-sounding duet, echoing over the waves and causing the very air to vibrate: the twins felt something building up beneath their feet, lifting them almost an inch off the ground and making it look like they were hovering in mid-air. When the twins' voices coalesced and seemed to become one beautiful string of sound, the compressed air exploded back out in every direction and the blondes went flying.

Quite frankly, they were startled and hadn't been expecting the launch.

"Hiyeeeek!" Persephone screeched, flailing her arms as they both went sailing across the ocean.

"I agree, but keep singing or we'll crash!" Patrokalos cried, also flailing around as he struggled to keep a grip on his twin sister's small hand. The twins frantically began to sing again, and the air propelled them into the air again not even a second before they smacked into the ground. Thus, the twins found a way to follow the Teen Titans to wherever they had gone.


	3. Chapter 2: Guardian Angels

**Chapter Two: Guardian Angels**

"What is this unsightly place?" Starfire whispered, voice trembling slightly as she glanced around.

"The slums. We're still in Jump City, just a different side of it," Robin explained, shaking his head in disgust: the Teen Titans were now standing on a short building near the outskirts of Jump City, looking out at the one place they had never visited in their own metropolis. The rundowns of Jump City were just as unpleasant as any slum in the world: poverty echoed down the streets, graffiti covered every wall that wasn't in shambles, and no windows were unbroken in the neighborhood.

"There's crime written all over this hood!" Cyborg scoffed angrily. "How come we've never been down here before?"

"We've never been called," Robin explained. "We could have helped if we'd known how awful it had gotten."

"So… why'd they call us now?" Beast Boy grumbled, just as a massive dragon-like creature with brown scales, silver spikes, and glowing violet eyes reared onto its hind legs above the buildings—bursting over the skyline and blowing orange flames into the streets with a roar. Robin and Raven both turned around and glanced at Beast Boy with raised eyebrows.

"Oh," the changeling sheepishly laughed; Starfire on the other hand, took one look at the beast and gasped.

"That is a Tamaranian yarkblat!" she squeaked with a look of horror. Robin spotted a metal collar around the dragon's neck bearing a large, glowing jewel identical to the one that Blackfire wore; apparently, Beast Boy saw it as well.

"Let's see, I need to think about this," the green-skinned teenager murmured, pretending to think really hard. "Well, who do we know from Tamaran who has access to evil mind-controlling collar technology and wants us all to be nasty little smears on the ground? If you can't get it right on the first try, here's a little hint: starts with a 'B,' ends with a 'lackfire'!"

"Don't you mean it ends with an 'itch'?'" Raven asked in a deadpan; Robin cut the pale girl's vulgar statement off with a conveniently timed cough and nudged his head at the redhead; Starfire didn't catch onto the foul language, but she knew very well who they were talking about. After all, Blackfire was her older sister from her home planet.

"Why would Blackfire send this horrendous creature to the 'sulms?'" Starfire quipped.

"It's 'slums'," Robin corrected as his communicator beeped; when he flipped it open, he saw Blackfire's face on the screen.

"Hey, kids!" she laughed, giving the boy a seductive grin as she tossed her long black hair over her shoulder. "I thought I'd send you all a little present. The coordinates were a little bit off, but I'm sure it's safe enough to assume that you were smart enough to find him. Have fun with your new pet! Oh, and Raven… I'm flattered by that."

"I guess anyone with a good intuition can figure out Raven's personality," Cyborg snickered, reading the screen on his arm after the transmission died. "Well, I traced the message, but she's nowhere even relatively close to our galaxy. The monster was apparently nothing more than a random attack, so it should be easy enough to deal with if we work together."

"Well, then all that's left is taking it down! Titans, go!" Robin shouted, and the five super-powered teens charged into battle. It wasn't long before the Titans realized they were losing, however: Blackfire had created a nice little backpack for the yarkblat, which consisted of five containment bubbles. Four were already filled: Starfire, Cyborg, Robin, and Raven had all been caught by the beast and were desperately trying—and failing—to escape their confinement. Beast Boy, surprisingly, was the only one who was still free from captivity. He was currently clinging to the massive dragon's snout in his gorilla form, ruthlessly pummeling the rock-hard scales with his giant fists and achieving absolutely nothing in the process.

With one mighty swipe of the yarkblat's claw, the changeling was thrown from an incredible height.

He rapidly shifted into a bat and was just in the middle of trying to dodge another attack when the creature's heavy claws smashed into him from above. The force of the blow crushed his wings and he shifted back into a human, only half-conscious as he went careening toward the pavement. The changeling squeezed his catlike green eyes shut as he prepared for impact, but then, quite unexpectedly, a crushing force smashed into his back and he felt two small hands grabbing him around the waist—both catching him and crashing into him at the same time. Beast Boy's first thought was that Starfire had come to his rescue since she was rough, but the green-skinned boy flinched when he looked up and saw the face of the blonde girl.

_Dude, why is she here?!_ he wondered, struggling against the blonde's grip and ignoring the way she squeaked when he almost slipped out of her grasp. However, Persephone clamped her skinny arms under his own before he could fall, and she didn't let go of him again until they came to a halt on a nearby roof—where they both went tumbling due to an ill-balanced landing. It was only then that he realized she couldn't have been flying with him; the two of them had landed much too hard.

Beast Boy rolled to his feet and took on a defensive posture just in case she proved to be hostile. However, the moment he got a good look at her, the changeling was struck dumb and he began to drool a little: she was slowly and clumsily getting up, but when she shook her hair out of her eyes he felt his heart flip.

He hadn't noticed it earlier, but the girl was insanely cute.

She was about half a foot shorter than him, her glossy blonde hair hung down to her shoulders, and her eyes were a vibrant blue that popped out at him in a slightly familiar way. However, her skin was so pale that she seemed abnormally fragile—almost as though she'd never been out in the sun growing up. Before he could say anything, the girl looked at him and flinched back several steps.

"Stay right there and don't move," she hesitantly commanded.

"Uh, okay?" the changeling asked, confused; the blonde girl nodded and closed her eyes, but he shivered when an electric tingling filled the air; his animal instincts were warning him to stay away from her, which made him feel tense. The girl's blonde hair weightlessly billowed around her face as the vibrating tingles grew stronger, and when she opened her eyes again he saw that her irises had had been replaced with a blinding yellow light. Beast Boy flinched and leapt backwards when an unexpected concussion thundered in his ears and the girl went flying toward the yarkblat. In mid-air, she flung her arms out and grabbed her brother's hands, who had also gone flying from a different building nearby.

The two of them spun in a dizzying circle as they sailed towards the dragon.

"Dude, what just happened?" Beast Boy wondered, gaping as he watched the twins flip through the air.

The changeling and his imprisoned teammates watched in horror as the twins shrieked, clumsily spinning toward the monster's face and kicking their legs as they tried to regain their balance. The yarkblat turned at the sound of their cries and blew a torrent of flames at them, but every single one of the Titans stared in shock when the twins separated one of their hands and locked them once again behind their backs, diving headfirst with their necks tilted back.

The second the twins opened their mouths, the sound of their harmonious voices exploded into the air and a blue glow surrounded them: a wall of water instantly swirled into existence around their flying forms, seemingly coming out of nowhere and extinguishing the flames. The rest of the heat wave roared around both blondes, leaving them completely unscathed as they let go of each other and spread their arms wide. The moment before they collided with the beast's nose, Persephone and Patrokalos simultaneously brought their small hands together with a thunderous clap and unleashed their abilities: the mouth of every Titan dropped when the alien dragon was hit by two bolts of lighting, causing it to explode in a spray of yellow blood.

The twins, on the other hand, proceeded to fall toward the ground and let out screams as they plummeted: they both managed to twist their bodies enough to land without getting hurt too badly, but their momentum caused them both to roll across the gooped-up pavement: the musical teenagers came to rest in the middle of the imprisoned Titans, completely covered in yellow goop and shuddering in utter revulsion.

"Ew, gross!" Persephone squealed, looking down at herself in horror before turning an unpleasant shade of green.

"I think I'm gonna vomit," Patrokalos choked out, gagging a bit as he tried to avoid looking at himself. "This stuff smells like sewage, skunk-butt, and microwaved diapers mixed with Artemis's French perfume. Ugh, this is just nasty!"

"I don't even want to ask how you know what all of that smells like," Persephone groaned, also gagging a bit, "but could you keep the descriptions on a minimum until I can scrub my skin off? Because I seriously feel like I'm about to throw up."

"Sorry, sis," Patrokalos sighed, flicking his hands and getting as much goop off as possible.

The Titans stared at the twins while they shook off their arms and legs, all the while making disgusted faces and shuddering. After a moment, they glanced around and froze when they saw the trapped Titans. The blondes glanced at each other and shrugged before they walked to the base of the device that the bubbles were mounted on. Kneeling down, Patty opened a hatch and scrutinized the metal paneling. Taking each others' hands, the twins stared at the paneling and sang a strange melody consisting of interlaced high and low notes: quite abruptly, the surface of the panel broke in half and Patrokalos ripped off the covering to reveal a complex control panel inside. The blonde boy instantly looked confused by what he saw and rolled back on his heels.

"Okay," he murmured, studying the panel intently, "I have _no_ idea what I'm doing here."

"Well, then let me give it a look," Persephone suggested, looking at the paneling; she blinked in surprise. "Yeah, there's a pretty good reason why you don't know what you're doing, Patty… this technology isn't even _possible_ for humans yet."

"How do you know that?" the blonde boy scoffed, blinking at her in amazement. "How _could_ you know that?"

"Well, remember all those books I read on lasers?" she asked, hooking a strand of hair behind her ear before she pointed at a particularly bright vein of light inside the machine. "Yeah, _that_ thing right there is a laser, but it's so powerful that there's absolutely _no_ possible way a human could have developed it using earthbound resources. I would advise against touching it with your fingers, though, since it'd burn right through them in an instant. Ever watch how Darth Maul died in Star Wars?"

"No, because unlike you, I'm not a nerd," Patrokalos snickered, sticking his tongue out until the girl smacked his arm.

"I am not a _nerd,_ Patty," Persephone pouted. "I just like to read a lot of sci-fi! I'm an intellectual, not a nerd!"

"Well, how do we deactivate this thing and get these guys free, then?" the blonde boy asked, frowning.

"I honestly don't know," the blonde girl admitted. "Maybe we could try shorting out the hardware with our lightning?"

"It's a start, at least," Patrokalos sighed, rolling his eyes before he stared at the odd-looking panel.

Obviously puzzled, Persephone and her brother stared at it for a several moments, but then the girl scratched her head and lifted her palm above the laser before closing her eyes. Electricity crackled around her hand as she slammed it into the control panel; it exploded and the containment bubbles disappeared. The four surprised Titans landed roughly on the street, splashing right down onto the disgusting yarkblat guts: the twins giggled hysterically at the identical looks of indignation on all four faces.

By this time, however, the alien dragon had started pulling its body back together and was soon completely reformed: its tail lashed out of nowhere—knocking Cyborg and Starfire into a building. Starfire managed to catch the robot before he made contact with the ground, but both were stunned by the monster's swift attack. Raven and Robin were just beginning to prepare for battle, but then their communicators beeped and they pulled the devices out.

Surprisingly, Beast Boy was on the other end.

"Dude, our powers are useless against that thing!" the changeling cried. "If it hadn't been for them, I would have died!"

"He's right," Robin said shortly. "Pull back, team! I want to see what these two can do!"

Everyone nodded and met up at the place where the girl had dropped Beast Boy. The twins watched them go with outraged blue eyes, waving their arms frantically and trying to get them to come back. After a moment, though, the dragon turned its gaze upon the blondes and blasted another pillar of fire at them. The teenagers leapt away before it could hit them and both came out of the attack unhurt, but now they were angry and they decided to fight back.

With eyes that shone gold, the twins leapt at each other and clasped hands once again; then they began to sing a melodious amount of musical notes, summoning a spray of water to their wrists and freezing them into a set of blades with their voices. Then they propelled themselves into the air and began slicing at the beast, nimbly avoiding his swishing claws and tail as they bounced from building to building, using _each other_ to flip in different directions: quite frankly, they made one hell of a good team.

"A barrier of liquid has formed out of nothingness!" Starfire gasped, pointing: true to the alien girl's exclamation, the air in front of the musical duo had been filled with a reverse tsunami that had engulfed the monster from the ground up. With a few more notes from the blondes and a concussive implosion on the air, a wave of silent thunder exploded around the twins' bodies and the monster was frozen solid; the only thing beneath the wall of ice that still looked alive now was the glowing jewel on its collar, but that slowly burned out. Amazingly, the twins had defeated the monster with no problem whatsoever.

When Persephone and Patrokalos landed on the street together, they immediately propelled themselves back into the air and flew up high before they tumbled down and landed ungracefully onto the roof in front of the Titans. After untangling their limbs from each other with awkward expressions, the small blonde girl timidly got to her feet and tiptoed up to Beast Boy: she shakily handed him his boot before skittishly prancing behind her brother and staring at all five of them with big, wary blue eyes.

Her brother did the same, only he stood tall with his shoulders back and his head held high: he looked very alert.

"But you—how did you—who the hell _are_ you people?!" Robin stuttered in shock, looking completely hostile.

"Not bad guys..." Persephone mumbled, eyes shining with fear.

"Sheesh, _that's_ a nice way of saying thank you," Patrokalos muttered, instantly scowling at the ground.

"Why did you save us?" Robin asked suspiciously; the twins stared at him blankly for several moments.

"We wanted to help," the girl proffered shyly, "and you're safe now… so why are you mad at us?"

"Because I don't trust you," Robin retorted nastily, "and the two of you followed us here without a good reason!"

"Excuse me?!" Patrokalos hissed, glaring at him in disbelief. "This is the part of town we've been living in for the past three months, and you idiots just so happened to show up in our neighborhood! Our apartment is right over there, you dolt!"

"Wait, you live here?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, for now, at least... my sister and I have moving around ever since… well, since forever, I guess," Patrokalos muttered, looking away with an emotionless expression on his face; when Robin saw how his blue eyes were glittering, a sickening jolt ripped through his chest. The blonde boy's face was, indeed, expressionless, but his eyes held more pain than anybody could really comprehend… however, what frightened him was the fact that he _recognized_ the expression from somewhere. Robin's eyes inexplicably flashed down to the girl hiding behind him and he froze when he saw the same look on her fragile face.

He suddenly felt like vomiting: both Persephone _and_ Patrokalos looked almost exactly like _Terra._

"Why are you all staring at us like that?" Percy asked, blue eyes flitting with worry as she and her brother subconsciously took a hesitant step back. "We don't even know who you all are, so would you please explain? I mean, you _did_ abduct us…"

None of the Titans had noticed they'd been staring and all of them flinched at the question.

"Fine! I'm Robin, and we're the Teen Titans," the Boy Wonder snapped. "This is Cyborg—"

"What's up?" the bionic teenager laughed, giving the twins a one-eyed wink that made them feel confused.

"—and that's Beast Boy—" Robin continued irritably.

"Thanks for saving me," the green-skinned teenager greeted with a wave.

"—Raven—"

"Hi," Raven said simply, looking—as usual—as though she didn't really care.

"—and Starfire."

"Hello again, Identical Friends! Thank you very much for saving us!" Starfire joyfully exclaimed, flying up and attempting to shake the twins' hands—just like Robin had instructed after the time she'd hugged a complete stranger who had simply said 'hello' to them on the street. The twins, on the other hand, cringed against each other and cowered when the alien flew at them.

"Welcome to our side of the city," Patrokalos squeaked, jerkily letting go and shaking Starfire's extended hand.

"Do you really mean to say that you live in this unsightly place?" the redhead asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yes," Persephone admitted, staring at the ground with a sorrowful look in her big blue eyes. "We have nowhere to go."

"That's unacceptable!" Robin snapped at her, startling everyone—even himself. Starfire gave a little gasp before turning her head and gawping at the boy with wide eyes; the others knew why and joined her shocked stares. He sounded the same in his conviction of the twins as he had when they'd all met Starfire—only now there was something else mixed into his voice.

"What?" Persephone mewed, cocking her head to the side in confusion when she noticed the awkward silence.

"We need a minute to talk," Robin muttered to the twins, who glanced at each other when the Titans walked away.

"Those two would make a good addition to this team," Raven rasped.

"Uh, Rae?" Beast Boy scoffed. "Can you please repeat that? I think my ears are still ringing from hitting my head."

"You heard me," Raven calmly explained, trying to cover up her real reason for wanting the twins to join their team. "I think we can trust them, and I have instincts about the intention of others."

It was true that their auras were pure, but there was a horrifying amount of emotional agony emanating from both of the blondes. Their pain was so powerful that it was actually visible to the Empath, and she had once been told by her mother that seeing an emotion was so rare of an occurrence that it would most likely never happen in her lifetime: the twins were feeling so much pain that it was swirling around them like a black cloud of mist, and it had caught her interest to an extremely profound degree.

Raven was secretly burning to know why the small girl and her twin brother were hurting so much.

"Yes, friends," Starfire added, clasping her hands together with a pleading look. "I, too, do not wish for such sweet people to live in a terrible place like this. They have saved our lives, and we are in their debt for such an act of selflessness. We have also done the naughty by taking them to our home without them knowing why, and it is our own mistake that has led to this."

"Yeah, man, and we could interview them to be housekeepers if they don't want to train," Cyborg added in; however, an awful sense of déjà vu suddenly swept over the Titans and they turned to look at Beast Boy, who had so far remained silent.

"It's weird," the changeling finally muttered. "We haven't had anyone new since… her."

"We shall never have any new friends if we do not start making them!" Starfire gently pointed out.

"Are we agreed then?" Robin demanded, looking around at his friends. The other Titans nodded and shook hands before they turned and walked back to where the twins were now sitting on the edge of the building. Persephone's slender legs were swinging over the edge of the rooftop, Patrokalos was sitting still, and strands of their shoulder-length blonde hair twisted in the breeze as they stared at the ruined streets with solemn expressions. Their hands were interlocked with tight fingers, almost as though they were afraid to let go of each other. However, they hastily turned around when they heard the Titans coming.

"Would you two like to stay at our place for a while?" Robin asked, offering a hand to help the blondes to their feet; both of them flinched and turned their heads when he thrust his hand out. Robin frowned deeply when he noticed their unexpected reaction: for some reason, both blondes were acting as though they were afraid his team would hit them. After a moment of cowering with their eyes squeezed shut, the twins opened their eyes looked up at their smiling faces. Instead of running away like their instincts were telling them to do, Patty and Percy took Robin's hands with hesitant eyes and let him help them up.

Once they were standing, they glanced down at the roof with uneasy expressions.

"What are your names?" Raven inquired, catching their attention. "I don't believe you've told us about yourselves."

"Oh, I'm Persephone D'Andesyrius," the blonde girl hastily introduced, giving a quick little bow. "I'm fifteen years old, I can make really yummy food, and I like to read a lot! My grades are sort of average, but I can do math pretty good after I—"

"Percy, they weren't asking for our entire life description," Patrokalos snickered, rolling his eyes before he gave his sister a noogie that made her squeal in protest. "Now I have to repeat a similar description of myself thanks to you! Anyway, my name is Patrokalos D'Andesyrius, I'm a minute older than my sister, I can eat almost anything and like it, and I love writing more than I love reading. My grades are crappy, and the two of us are identical twins, which is possible if you're Angels."

"Those names," Raven noted, narrowing her eyes, "those names are derived from Greek and Roman times. Is the fact that you're… _angels_ the reason why you two were named after Pagan gods? Is it because your parents were… _angels,_ as well?"

"I dunno why our parents gave us these names," Persephone admitted, shrugging off her brother's hand. "Heck, we don't even know our real parents, but you can call us Percy and Patty if you want. After all, our nicknames sound more… normal."

"Yeah, and everyone else called us that back home, so it's easier for us to remember," Patrokalos added, agreeing with his sister wholeheartedly and giving the hooded girl a shy smile; Raven immediately cocked an eyebrow, curious as to why his emotions inexplicably changed in a way that she didn't understand. The empath still didn't trust the twins, and despite her burning desire to know more about them, she knew better than to trust a friendly smile thanks to Terra's betrayal of them. The fallen Titan had hurt her a lot more than she really wanted to admit to herself.

"We should all head home now," Robin sighed, wearily rubbing his dirty arms. "We all need a decent shower after this."

"Shower?" the blondes exclaimed at the same time, bright blue eyes lighting up.

"Yes, a shower," the boy wonder rapped out, looking a little irritated. "Star, Raven, and Beast Boy, you three can fly on ahead while I take the R-Cycle. Cyborg can take the twins in the T-car: that way we all have some type of way to get home."

"Aw, man!" Cyborg instantly cried, face becoming horrified. "My baby's gonna get covered in this stuff!"

"She'll live," Beast Boy snickered, grinning at the bionic black boy and rolling his eyes before he morphed into a falcon and took off. Starfire and Raven followed close behind with the twins watching in fascination: they were both amazed that somebody could learn to fly without using wings, and it intrigued them to no end. Robin noticed the rapturous expressions on their faces and rolled his eyes behind his mask before throwing a grapple and swinging down to the ground. Cyborg looked at the two confused blondes as they glanced around the roof, looking for some other way down; with a sigh, the bionic black boy grabbed the two of them and hefted their weight securely in his arms… despite the resulting squeal and squawk of protest.

"What are you doing?!" Patrokalos cried as the giant walked towards the edge. "Oh, man, please tell me you aren't!"

"Patty, what are you talking about?" Persephone squealed, face immediately draining of color. "What's he doing?"

"Hold on tight and don't wriggle around too much, otherwise you might hit the pavement," Cyborg chuckled, crouching against the rooftop amusedly when the blondes shrieked in hysterical protest. "Yeah… and the screaming isn't helping you."

"No, no, no, no, no!" Persephone chanted, squeezing her eyes shut. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The bionic boy abruptly sailed down from the rooftop, and the blondes in his arms let out nearly identical screeches that left his human ear ringing; however, he had to admit that their reactions upon landing had been totally worth it. Persephone was thoroughly shaken by his actions, and her face was so white that the boy felt a little guilty; Patrokalos, on the other hand, was reacting in a way that had Cyborg fighting off a fit of hysterical laughter since it would have made him look like an ass.

The boy had a serious case of the hiccups, and he was fanning his bright red face to clear the fright away.

"You're such a—hic!—jerk!" Patrokalos cried, hiccupping violently as he shakily got to his feet. "Once this—hic!—starts, it takes forever to make it—hic!—make it stop again! I—hic!—GOD DAMMIT, I _hate_ you!"

"I thought I was gonna die again," Persephone whispered, hugging her knees and slowly burying her face in them.

Cyborg felt even guiltier after hearing that, so he waved the twins to follow and led them to the car he'd built. Once the twins were in the back seat, their exhaustion kicked in and they fell asleep against each other before he even got the engine started: Cyborg stared at them in confusion and curiosity for several moments, wondering how they could be so deadly yet look so innocent.

"Man, I hope these kids aren't villains in disguise," Cyborg sighed as he started the T-car. "They aren't acting suspicious, though, and I doubt they would ever willingly work for Slade after what we saw… but something big is definitely going on."


	4. Chapter 3: The Harmony Twins

**Chapter Three: The Harmony Twins**

"I got dibs on the Game Station!" Beast Boy shouted, transforming into a cheetah and racing to the main room.

"No way!" Cyborg yelled, pumping his arms as he charged after him. "I called it on the way back!"

"You were with those blonde kids, not us!" the changeling cried, laughing. "You have no right to call it!"

"Then neither do you!" Cyborg shouted, chasing the little grass stain out of the room.

Raven muttered something about meditation and went to her bedroom while Robin volunteered to give the twins a tour of their home with Starfire close behind. The two blondes had been dumbstruck to find that the Titans actually lived in a T-shaped building, but they had been even more shocked to find that the inside of the building actually looked incredibly... well, _classy. _Once they were able to get a better look at it, they realized it wasn't scary at all.

It was actually pretty amazing.

"The kitchen's in here! Take something from the fridge whenever you want," Robin explained to the two blondes standing next to him. He was about to open the door to the main room when something smashed into it from the other side and a pair of muffled yells echoed from behind the door. Persephone instinctively leapt onto the top of the fridge and cowered against the wall before curling up into a little ball with both hands covering her body; Patrokalos similarly leapt under the table, head buried in his knees with both arms covering the back of his neck.

Robin looked highly alarmed by their instantaneous reflexes; Starfire merely looked confused.

"New friends, why must you hide in such strange places?" the Tamaranian girl asked in bewilderment.

"It's just BB and Cy fighting over the Game Station, Star: the twins were startled," Robin slowly explained, helping Persephone down when the small girl wordlessly tried to slide off and failed. "Still, we should probably avoid this general area for a while, just to avoid any… casualties."

However, something heavier hit the door as they were leaving: the blonde girl jumped clean onto Starfire's back with a terrified squeak and clamped down on the hovering alien. The same moment she clung to her body like a monkey, Patrokalos gripped Robin's arm and clenched it tightly, but when the black-haired boy turned to snap at him, he was greeted with the sight of a trembling blonde who had his eyes squeezed shut and absolutely no color in his face.

When he saw that Percy had buried her face in the startled alien's hair like a frightened child, Robin merely sighed and put up with the grip on his arm: he silently motioned for the princess to follow him out of the room before he opened the door and walked through it... leading Patrokalos along, since the boy still had his eyes shut. After they were far enough away from the noises to make the twins feel more comfortable, the girl slid down from Starfire's back and the boy let go of Robin's arm. The twins followed the two Titans with identical expressions of fearful unease.

As the tour wound down, the four came to the hall with the Titans' rooms.

They walked down the hall until they came to the sixth and seventh one.

"Friend Percy, you shall stay in here for now," Starfire said brightly. "Friend Patty will stay in the room beside you."

"Who's Terra?" Persephone mumbled, looking at the name on the door with curious blue eyes. "Is she another Titan?"

"Erm, this is…" Starfire mumbled, looking very uncomfortable; she trailed off and turned to glance Robin.

"We'll talk about that some other time, but right now it isn't important," Robin sighed, shaking his head. "Anyway, there are some clean clothes in both rooms right now, so feel free to change into something other than… that, after you shower."

"For free?" Patrokalos exclaimed, thick blonde eyebrows shooting up. "Are you sure it's okay that we stay with you?"

"Of course it is!" Starfire replied brightly. "I will not have you sleeping on the streets when we are in your debt!"

"It's just like she said, so make yourself comfortable," Robin agreed with a nod. "You can do what you want until dinner."

"Sweet! I'll see you at dinner, Percy!" the blonde boy cried, hurrying into his new room and shutting the door.

"Well, o-okay," Persephone stammered, blinking as Robin and Starfire walked down the hall, speaking together in low tones as they went. She watched them leave with a curious expression, but just as they rounded the corner, Percy saw Robin put a comforting hand on Starfire's shoulder. The blonde instantly frowned, looking at the ground with a guilty expression: apparently, from the way they were acting, staying with them had reawakened something painful for the Titans. Feeling solemn and upset, Percy turned into the room and closed the door before heading over to the closet and selecting a new outfit.

_It's a really nice room, _Persephone thought to herself, frowning a little as she grabbed a change of clothes, _but I wonder why this 'Terra' girl affects them like this._

Shrugging her shoulders, the girl grabbed a towel before heading off to the nearest bathroom. Once she was clean, dressed, and her glossy blonde hair was fully brushed out, the girl cautiously padded out of the bathroom and made her way towards the room that everyone called the Common Room. However, just as she was about to open the door, she heard voices on the other side of it and stopped: after a moment, she realized they were talking about her and her brother in very hushed tones.

"_Yeah, but_ _she asked about Terra,_" Robin said solemnly, voice muffled by the walls. "_We'll have to tell them sooner or later._"

"_Let's wait until we know if they'll even be on the team,_" Raven retorted sharply, making her twitch. "_We'll train with the twins after dinner and see what they can do to gauge their skills. Then we can make a decision about what to tell them, okay?_"

Persephone hunched down and hastily whirled around, leaving the premises in the assumption that their conversation about her and her brother was over. Not really having anything else to do, she slowly made her way to the roof and sat down on the edge of the tower, staring off at the setting sun as the breeze played with her shoulder-length blonde hair.

_I'm going to be the new girl for a long time,_ she thought silently, eyes sad._ I just hope my brother will be happy now._

**TXXXXXT**

"Dinner time!" Cyborg shouted, ripping off his apron and chef's hat.

The Titans expectantly gathered around the table, but when the twins slowly came in through the door and sat down as well, everyone gaped at them.

Patrokalos was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans that made him look really good, and he was also wearing a pair of fingerless black gloves that he had found in his new bedroom. His shoulder-length blonde hair, which had been washed and was now pulled into a high-ponytail that somehow managed to not seem girly, gleamed like golden fire in the light of the kitchen.

Persephone, on the other hand, was the one who caught their attention, and by all means it was not in a good way: she had thrown on a hooded black T-shirt, a pair of khaki shorts with knee-high socks, and a pair of black boots. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was pinned off to the side by a familiar butterfly brooch, and for a moment the Titans blanched in horror: she looked almost identical to Terra, save for the shorter hair and smaller body. When the twins looked at the food, they became oblivious to all of the blatant stares and swallowed at the same moment: the last time they'd eaten had been six days prior to being captured.

The entire team stopped eating and watched as the blondes began nibbling at the food with tears in their eyes, but Raven frowned when they really began to cry, because the food was pretty average-tasting and it shouldn't have been good enough to reduce someone to tears. Regardless of their skepticism, though, the Titans were impressed because—aside from the meat—Patty tried and liked every dish that was put in front of him.

He even had a tofu eating contest with Beast Boy and won it.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Beast Boy exclaimed, grinning widely at the blonde boy. "So, did you like it?"

"Yeah, but all I could taste was the Tofu… that kind of killed the urge to eat more of it," Patrokalos admitted, sheepishly hunching down when the green-skinned boy gave him a dejected puppy-dog face. "Sorry, green man, I'm just being honest."

"This just proves that real meat and eggs are better than that nasty stuff," Cyborg laughed triumphantly, pumping his fist; the changeling huddled down even further and his expression became even more pathetic. Persephone giggled a little at the sight and decided to help him out with her knowledge on cooking, which she happened to have a lot of thanks to Artemis.

"Nope, I'm afraid you're completely wrong about that statement," the blonde girl stated in a sing-song tone, making the robotic boy stop laughing and blink in confusion and surprise; Beast Boy instantly perked up and glanced at her with a hopeful expression, pleading for her to say something good about tofu. "Well, if I'm going to be _completely_ honest, this tofu sucked… very, very badly."

His expression made her want to laugh: he looked like he was about to cry.

"Yo, how does that make _me_ wrong and _him_ right?" Cyborg scoffed, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You just agreed and said that the tofu sucked, which contradicts what you said about the meat. Would you care to explain your reasoning, little lady?"

"Well, it's true that this tofu was terrible," Persephone admitted in a quiet tone, casting an apologetic glance at the green-skinned boy before returning her gaze to the bionic teenager, "but that's only because he didn't prepare it properly. You see, just because tofu is a meat substitute, that doesn't mean it's supposed to be prepared like an actual meat source. To put it all simply and kindly, Beast Boy prepared it wrong: when tofu is made the right way, you're not supposed to be able to tell the difference between what you're eating and the real thing. I can guarantee that you'll like properly-made tofu more than the chopped up cow on your plate, especially if I'm the one who makes it. Would you let me make it for tomorrow's dinner?"

For several moments, the Titans merely stared at her with open mouths.

"Dude," Beast Boy breathed, green eyes shining, "you mean you know how to make tofu-dishes, and you eat them?"

"My sister and I are Vegans," Patrokalos quietly explained, making the changeling's jaw drop open in shock. "I mean, we have a special connection with plants and animals that allows us to feel what they do. After experiencing for ourselves how a mother cow feels when she wakes up to find that her child is gone forever, eating meat feels like murder and cannibalism."

"Dude, you totally understand!" Beast Boy abruptly exclaimed, making the other four Titans stare at him. "You two understand exactly the way I feel! After being so many of these animals and feeling the way they do for myself, it makes me sick to my stomach to watch so many people eat them! I mean, I've tried eating meat when everyone in the tower is off doing their own thing, but I always think about how being that animal feels and throw it up! I get sick!"

"Yep, that's what happened to us whenever we tried to stomach it," Persephone chirped, finishing the last of what was on her plate. "Hence why I learned how to make tofu on the nights that our sister Artemis was feeling lazy. So, is it okay if I help Cyborg make some tofu dishes to go along with whatever else he decides to whip up for our next dinner time? If not, I could make a tofu-based breakfast…"

"Dude!" Beast Boy squealed, leaping onto the table and grabbing her hand with a huge grin. "Can you make tofu sausages and tofu eggs that taste like the real thing?! Please, please, pleeeeease say 'yes' so I can have a decent breakfast tomorrow!"

"O-of course!" the girl squeaked, severely startled by his actions. "I can make all sorts of tofu-based breakfast dishes."

"Sweet, my life is better already!" Beast Boy howled, sliding back in his seat and doing a happy little jig.

"Well, if you really can cook, you're welcome to give it a try," Cyborg stated warily, eying the small girl up and down as she removed the napkin from her shirt and wiped her mouth, "but it had better be good, kiddo, because if I try this tofu you're so confident about only to find that it tastes like the gritty crap that BB always makes, you owe me a burger and some fries."

"Deal," Persephone exclaimed, grinning confidently as she shook his huge hand, "and if I win, you either have to eat Beast Boy's version of Tofu for a month or admit out loud that he was right and Tofu can be better than the things you like to eat!"

"Fair enough," the bionic teenager laughed, secretly admiring the girl's naive way of helping others. He was happy to see the huge grin of delight on his green friend's face: it had been a very long time since the changeling had smiled so sincerely.

"Raven has been kind of quiet and I get the feeling she doesn't like talking," Patrokalos suddenly stated, awkwardly looking down at his plate when his cheeks involuntarily turned pink, "but I really wanna ask since my sister is going to be cooking for the funny green guy sitting over there, so, uh… w-well, Raven, what kind of food do you like to eat?"

The Titans abruptly stopped what they were doing and stared at him in shock.

"I don't eat that much," the hooded girl explained, glancing up with a suspicious expression. "However… when I do eat, I usually go with the pizza my friends are ordering, the salads I buy at my favorite coffee shop, or my herbal tea. That's it."

"You like pizza?" Patrokalos inquired, brightening up in an instant.

"Yes, I find the taste rather enjoyable," Raven replied, narrowing her eyes at the blonde boy. "Why are you asking me these questions instead of Robin or Starfire? I like to be left alone, and I'm sure they'd be much more willing to talk to you."

"Well, I figured that Robin is already making Starfire some yummy food," Patrokalos sighed, face turning a dark shade of red as he shyly averted his eyes, "but I guess it's a different story if you prefer to be alone, though… I'm sorry for asking."

"What are you trying to pull?" Raven demanded, violet eyes narrowing even further. "You don't know me."

"Is it a bad thing that I want to?" Patrokalos asked, glancing up at her in surprise; under normal circumstances, Raven would have taken his question to be a cheesy pick-up line and thrown him out the window like she was constantly doing to Beast Boy, but this… well, _this_ wasn't exactly normal circumstances. From what she could sense, the blonde boy was alarmingly innocent and he'd been sincerely confused and worried when she'd turned her 'angry face' on him.

At the moment, he was feeling an unnerving amount of self-regret… and it made her feel a bit guilty.

"Not necessarily," Raven said slowly, violet eyes completely alert. "However, if you think for one second that I'm easy to get along with, you're dead wrong. Just ask Beast Boy how many times he's been thrown out of the Tower windows and you'll see for yourself."

"Well, okay, but I already figured that you're not the talkative type," Patrokalos sighed, leaning back in his chair as relief spread across his features; he leaned back in his chair. "Anyway, if you like the taste of pizza, would you all care to try a recipe for vegan lasagna that our sister, Artemis, taught me? Or, uh… if you like meat more than tofu, then I might be able to figure out how to make it using that… but I don't know if it would taste the same. I could try using thyme instead of basil."

"No, you should go with oregano," Persephone instantly corrected, absently dusting off her shirt. "Thyme makes meat taste unpleasantly sour, which is why it tastes better on tofu since the natural chemicals don't react negatively: it retains it's naturally yummy flavor on tofu, but it would ruin real meat if you put it in the dish. Oregano is your best bet, bro, trust me."

"Okay, oregano it is!" Patrokalos exclaimed, rubbing his chin as he went deep into thought about how he would make the meal taste delicious if it had meat in it. Raven watched him with a cocked eyebrow, wondering if he was clinically insane for even trying to talk to her, but then she glanced at her teammates to see that they were all hiding snickers of amusement.

She instantly felt her irritation spike, and a vein popped out in her forehead.

"I have a question," Robin stated, getting up to clear the table with the help of Cyborg and the blondes. "Patrokalos and Persephone, do you think you would be okay with joining us in a training session in thirty minutes? We won't force you to do this with us, but it would be a good idea to learn how to fight better against the enemies who may pop up from time to time."

"Uh, I dunno about that," Patrokalos instantly stated, frowning worriedly. "I mean, I don't think we—"

"—should waste anymore time, so let's get down to business," Persephone calmly finished, making her brother glance at her in surprise before he smiled a little and nodded the go-ahead that meant he was okay with it if she was. "If you want my personal opinion, I'm perfectly fine with a… uh, training session since I'm pretty sure you won't use our powers for… evil."

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, lifting his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. "The training in itself is still pretty rough."

"As long as my brother can do it with me, we'll be fine!" the blonde girl exclaimed, flashing them a tiny thumbs-up and a cheerful wink that made her look incredibly cute. Even though it was getting dark, the Titans decided to use the same obstacle course that they'd tested Terra with: it had been beaten up pretty badly by the blonde girl the first time she'd tried, but Cyborg had fixed it up long since then. The bionic boy turned on the tall stadium lights around the course, brightening the entire area.

"Alright!" Cyborg said, pushing the twins to the starting line. "Out of curiosity, we have voted that you two are up first!"

"Okay, we can do this," Patrokalos snorted, clasping his hands behind his head while his sister squared her small shoulders and puffed her cheeks out with an exaggerated expression of determination. However, the moment a set of cannons began to fire lasers at them, the girl squeaked like a terrified mouse and blasted herself into the air with her brother—both twisting like airborne ballet dancers as they clasped hands. The twins began to sing in harmony when they landed, voices coming out high and sweet as they jumped again and flew past the cannons with their free arms outstretched. All of the blasters slid askew only a second after the blondes passed, but then they abruptly exploded in a spray of fire and metal with no warning whatsoever.

The twins had destroyed them at such a high speed that the other Titans hadn't even seen it happening.

Big fist-ended shafts of metal started jutting randomly from the ground in the twins' path when they propelled themselves into the air again; Patrokalos and Persephone spiraled around using each other's arms and sliced through them easily, going at an incredibly fast speed. In the next section, the two of them had to jump through gates that would fall the moment something passed beneath them.

The twins flipped under the first and second gate without incident, but as they were passing beneath third they were forced to draw on their destructive energy.

They both knew they wouldn't make it under in time, so they let out a set of harmonious notes that froze the metal with a wall of water; then the twins shattered it using their concussive abilities. Patrokalos bolted toward his sister when they landed in different areas, twisting on his side and rolling over her back as he dodged a swinging blade. The girl grabbed her brother's arm and flipped over his head, sending her leg straight down on top of the deadly weapon and crushing it with her heel. The twins then formed an energy cocoon and ran as several disk launchers began barraging them; they dodged the first few, sliced the next few into halves, and destroyed the launchers as they went by.

Soon they were at the finish line.

"Yay, yay, yay!" Persephone squealed, jumping around and clapping her hands together with a fit of laughter.

"We actually did it like the professionals, sis!" Patrokalos laughed, lifting his sister into his arms and spinning her around as she squealed with laughter. "We just ran a superhero's obstacle course and made it to the other end without a problem!"

"Did you see those _lasers?!"_ the girl gushed, clutching her brother's cheeks with wide, sparkling eyes. "They were _real_ laser guns! I didn't even think those things really existed since I've only seen them in Star Wars and Star Trek, but they were _real!_ Real laser guns, Patty, _real!"_

"Yeah, I saw them," the blonde boy snorted, rolling his electric blue eyes with an amused smile. "You little nerd."

"Nope," the girl sniffed, turning away with her nose in the air. "I told you: I'm an intellectual, not a nerd."

All of the Titans stared at their time during the run: the twins had shattered Robin's record by nearly seven minutes, which was an almost frightening feat since he was the best at beating the courses. They looked down at the twins to see that they were now sitting happily on the ground and chatting about the amazing course while they waited to see how they'd scored.

"I think those two would make damn good Titans," Cyborg said slowly. "I think it's time to show them."

The twins were still chatting about the concept of lasers when the Titans glanced back down at them, only now the girl was jabbing her brother's ribs and he was giving her a playful noogie. Both of them knew the Titans were debating whether or not they should be on the team, but they weren't expecting anything remarkable. However, they became so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't hear them walk up. So, as to be expected, both twins flinched and quickly covered their heads when someone touched their shoulders. After a moment, they slowly relaxed and stood up, staring at the Titans expectantly.

To their intense alarm, all of the Titans looked grim.

"Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius," Robin said grimly. "We have something to show you ."

"You have to show us something?" Patrokalos asked, frowning in puzzlement.

"What would that be?" Persephone quipped, cocking her head to the side with a look of confusion on her face.

"Your predecessor," Robin replied, and the faces of both twins instantly went blank with confusion.

**TXXXXXT**

Ten minutes later, the twins were standing in a stone cavern with the rest of the Titans.

"This is Terra," Beast Boy said as the twins stood before the statue, blue eyes slowly becoming vacant with horror.

"Eh...?" Percy whispered, eyes shining with stunned disbelief; the boy and girl were now looking at a stone girl, but their horrified eyes couldn't seem to look away from her slightly familiar face: Persephone slowly forced her body to turn around and faced the Titans, blue eyes wide and empty with an unfathomable emotion. Both twins looked as though they were trying to hold something back... something that was fighting to claw its way to the surface. It was an unnerving expression, but only one Titan noticed it.

Raven was seeing something very odd indeed: she had realized that the pure feeling to the girl's aura was wavering, and after glancing at the boy, she saw the same thing was happening to him. She tried to make contact with Percy's mind, but she was thrown from it by a repelling force the moment she entered. The Empath's violet eyes widened when she recollected her thoughts: what she had seen of the girl's mind was a cyclone of emotional turmoil that was somehow linked telepathically to her brother… but she had also sensed another, _much_ darker presence that had latched onto the powerful link the twins shared with each other.

The Empath slowly compared the twins' minds to her own and realized that the blondes were almost exactly like her. Only their problem was different... and in way that was utterly strange to her, since they were full-blooded angels: not half demons.

"This is Terra?" Patrokalos asked, voice sounding haunted. "This is the Terra you were talking about, Persephone?"

"About one year ago," Robin explained, staring hard at the boy's pale face when he turned back around, "we met a girl with superpowers named Terra, and she didn't have anywhere to call home… so, we invited her to train with us. After seeing what she could do, we asked her to become a Titan but she freaked and ran off because she couldn't control her powers. She came back eight months ago with complete control and claimed that she had been training the whole time. She became the sixth Teen Titan: we trusted her and she was part of our team, but we learned too late that she was working for Slade, our greatest enemy. Slade sent an army of his robots to attack us, but while we were fighting, Terra disappeared with him."

"Not long after that, Terra attacked us directly," Beast Boy added, face becoming depressed. "She nearly destroyed every one of us and allowed Slade to take over the city. We came back on the offensive and defeated her, but she got back to Slade and he managed to take control of her powers since she was having second thoughts about hurting us. We just managed to convince her to fight back—and she sent Slade straight into an ancient volcano that she had accidentally triggered to life. She sacrificed herself to save the city, and that's why she's here now. We've been looking for a way to bring her back from this."

The second Robin and Beast Boy finished the story, Raven sensed a surge of power and a feeling of danger filled her awareness.

Persephone unexpectedly covered her mouth with both hands as her eyes widened, and she fell to her knees before slamming her palms on the stone floor of the cave; Patrokalos jerked several times, arms twitching at an odd angle as he grit his teeth and made a strangled noise that didn't fit his gentle personality. A second later he joined his sister on all fours, breathing hard and shaking violently as a red light engulfed their forms; when the twins looked back up, even Cyborg went pale at the sigh of their faces: their beautiful blue irises had shifted to a frightening crimson and they had fangs almost an inch long poking out of their mouths.

Their appearances looked more demonic than angelic at the moment.

"You still want to bring her back even after she betrayed and attacked you idiots?!" Persephone shrieked, shaking with rage as her pretty face contorted with hatred. "How do you know she won't do it again?! You don't understand how weak you mortals are, do you?! Here's a tip, you idiots: forget about this Terra girl before you make the biggest mistake of your lives!"

"You stupid bitch!" Beast Boy roared, face instantly twisting into an angry snarl. "She was our friend—and nobody, not even a _traitor,_ deserves to be turned to stone! What the hell do you know about her, huh?! Were _you_ here when she sacrificed everything to save our lives?! No, you weren't, so you don't have a god damn _right_ to tell us about what to forget!"

_"You're_ the bitch, green boy," Patrokalos hissed, face sliding into a horrible sneer. "Patrokalos and Persephone knew the pretty little rock up there on a much more personal level than you ever could, so don't tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about when _you_ obviously don't even know who the hell you're _talking_ to. I doubt… _stop it_… that even… _no, get_… these angelic twins know what they… _out of my head! Get out of my head!_ Stop it!"

"—_truly are on the…_ no more… _inside,_" Persephone finished, squeezing her crimson eyes shut as her arms buckled and she collapsed. Patrokalos had a similar fit and let out another choking noise, rearing back and clawing at his hair as he fought against his own mind. Beast Boy continued to glare at the twins as they struggled back into their normal forms, fighting off the sinister presence and whining in dismay as their breathing became labored. Eventually the twins won the internal battle and their bodies went limp from exhaustion; they lay on the stone floor as soft sounds of discomfort escaped their lips.

The Titans were utterly disturbed by what had just occurred.

"Having fun over there?" Beast Boy muttered, still irked by their accusations toward Terra.

_"Shut up,"_ Raven hissed, shooting the changeling such a ferocious glare that he clamped up in fright; then she crouched next to them. "What just happened to you confirmed my initial suspicion, but now I need to know the entire truth: how strong is your… shared... second personality?"

"I… I didn't mean it!" Patrokalos hiccuped, covering his face to hide his tears. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't hurt us," Persephone choked out, shaking violently as tears began streaming down her pale cheeks. "Don't hurt us! We'll be good!"

"It's okay," Cyborg stated uncomfortably.

"No, it isn't okay!" Persephone wailed, violently flinging her hair around. "Our powers could kill _all_ of you if we ever lost control like we did back in the canyon! If we think the wrong thing at any time, the Angel of Wrath could surface and all of you could be slaughtered within the span of a single second! Unlike regular people, angels have two souls: one good, and one evil!"

"I sensed a dark presence in your minds, one that is somehow a part of the link you and your brother share," Raven noted, drawing the Boy Wonder's attention to their conversation. "I can also see that your emotions are in a constant state of turmoil, so if what you said about having two souls is true… maybe I can help the two of you with the control you seem to be lacking."

"We'll all help," Robin added, kneeling next to the twins and putting his hands on their shoulders. "However, first we'll need you to tell us everything you can about yourselves… we won't know how to help you if you won't tell us everything."

"My sister and I are different from the normal angels of our kind, because we both share a soul even though we're separate beings," Patrokalos instantly explained, moving to a sitting position and staring unhappily at the ground. "When we're angry, we can conjure fire and the destructive elements of nature more easily, but those are the times that we're quick to lose control to the evil presence inside us. When we're happy, we become much closer to nature and the world around us blooms with life all over the place. Literally. On top of that, the two of us can also breathe under water… but only when we're feeling sad enough to cry. Trust me, we've been... tested on that particular ability."

"Yeah, and when we sing, we can do virtually anything we put our minds to: the sound of our voices put together in song has the ability to distort reality, even the essence of time and space, but only to a limited degree," Persephone added, clutching her arms. "With our elemental abilities… well, I can create lightning but I can't control it on my own: that's my brother's forte. Water, fire, air, and everything else you've seen so far has the same principle: he can create it, I can control it; I can create it, he can control it. All in all, the two of us need to be touching each other physically in order to use our abilities to the full extent of their power…"

"Otherwise," Patrokalos finished, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, "our energy is cut down by half."

"I'm glad you told us all of that," Robin murmured as he and Raven helped the twins to her feet. When the Titans began to make their way back to the Tower, Raven came up beside Percy and poked her twitching ear: she had noticed that the twins had been hiding the elf-like appendages until the moment Patrokalos had tied his hair in a ponytail. She found it amusing.

"I understand what you're going through," Raven said quietly, keeping her face blank when the blonde girl flinched and clamped a hand on her ear with a wide-eyed expression. "My powers are unleashed by emotion, too, and the only way I can control them is by controlling my feelings. I've gotten pretty good at meditation, so maybe I can help you and your brother."

"You hold back all of your emotions without having your powers blow up in your face?" Persephone asked, staring at the hooded girl with an expression of mesmerized awe. "That's amazing! Controlling our own emotions is the biggest problem!"

"You're the first person who's ever been impressed by that," Raven noted with a look of mild surprise; after a moment of blinking at the naive blonde, the Empath actually smiled a little at the praise. Robin and Starfire, who were walking behind them and observing their conversation, noticed the grin and nearly had simultaneous aneurisms from the shock of seeing it.

"Raven's never taken to anyone this fast," Robin scoffed, blinking rapidly behind his mask. "Heck, it took her almost six months for her to smile at the four of us for the first time, and that girl made her grin on the first day! This is incredible!"

"Yes, it seems as though the two of them shall become very good friends," Starfire agreed, blissfully unaware of how important and shocking the situation was. Cyborg paused and glanced around when he noticed someone from their team was missing, but after a moment he saw that Beast Boy was trailing far behind and slowed down so he could walk beside him.

"Hey, Buddy," Cyborg joked, nudging his shoulder with a grin, "what's up with the gloomy face?"

"Maybe they were right," the changeling muttered absently.

"About what?" Cyborg asked, blinking at the lanky teenager in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Terra," Beast Boy replied dejectedly, "maybe Percy and Patty were right and she _will_ betray us again."

"Man, what's wrong with you?" Cyborg exclaimed, looking completely shocked by the boy's statement. "You've been looking harder than anyone for a way to bring her back! They said they didn't mean it! That's just the way their dark side is!"

"Yeah, you're right," Beast Boy sighed, giving his best friend a shrug. "I shouldn't worry so hard, I guess."

However, he was silent the rest of the way home.

The Titans and the twins walked into the Tower around eleven o' clock at night, heading into the same hallway to go to their rooms: however, Persephone instantly froze and stood staring at the outside of Terra's door. The others all stopped and looked at her; she had long since dried her tears, but a tight expression had worked its way into her sparkling blue eyes.

"I… I can't stay in her room after what I said about her," the blonde girl murmured, turning her face away from the door without looking at them. "May I just sleep on the couch for now? Patrokalos, you wouldn't mind if I did that, would you?"

"It's your choice, not mine," the blonde boy snorted, although he still looked a little concerned.

"Of course you can, Percy: I'll get you a blanket," Robin sighed; the other Titans said goodnight to each other and entered their individual rooms while Persephone followed the Boy Wonder to the main room. When she sat down on the couch with a groan, the black-haired youth handed her the blanket and said goodnight. He was just about to leave the common room when the sound of the girl's voice shocked him into stopping.

He listened intently, but he was totally unprepared for what she said.

"Thank you for taking us in, Robin," she called. "My brother and I… we're grateful, and we'll do our best to help out."

"You're welcome… and good night," he sighed, shaking his head with a deep frown; Persephone turned to look out the window when he closed the door, but the second she was sure he was gone, she buried her face in her knees and began to cry. She cried for her fallen sisters; she cried for the people she had caused suffering in the last few hours; but most of all, she cried for herself and her brother, because they were all alone and they couldn't fully trust anyone except themselves.

**TXXXXXT**

When he got back to his room, Robin was startled to find that Cyborg was waiting for him.

"What are you doing in here?" the Titan Leader demanded, blinking a few times under his mask.

"Robin, something is definitely wrong," Cyborg said pensively, glancing at his electronic arm as he examined something he had recorded very, very closely. "According to the medical scan I ran on the twins when we were back on the rooftop, they have injuries hidden beneath their clothes that didn't happen by accident. Judging by the way some of the scars and cuts look on my scanner, someone tried to kill them multiple times and obviously screwed it up. Or, to put it more precisely, somebody tried to put bullets in their bodies with assault rifles and failed: the shots were poorly deflected by something, and judging by the large amount of metal shards that are still buried in their backs, the twins were seriously injured by all of the shrapnel."

"Somebody tried to kill them?" Robin demanded, blinking in surprise. "That doesn't fit my suspicions at all."

"I heard a report on the radio a few months ago that two naked teenagers walked up onto the beach, seemingly coming right up out of the sea," Cyborg hesitantly explained, frowning as he thought over what he'd heard. "Witnesses say that that the teenagers were blonde twins: a girl with short blonde hair and a boy who looked almost completely identical to her. Their first words upon regaining total consciousness were, 'He's going to kill us!' but they passed out quickly afterwards and were taken to Jump City Hospital. A nurse there claims she was attacked by a very similar set of twins who were wearing large sweaters and overly baggy jeans, but the suspects vanished without a trace after those three particular incidents… until now, that is."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Robin demanded with a scowl.

"I was expecting an answer more like, 'brief me on the rest of the situation,'" Cyborg muttered, shaking his head with an irritable expression. "Yo, their first words were, 'He's going to kill us!' I mean, doesn't that seem even a little strange? Two injured kids walked out of the ocean and shrieked that an unknown man was going to kill them, and that doesn't worry you?"

"If you put it that way, yeah—it does sound alarming," Robin confirmed with a nod, "but then again, we won't have a clue what they were talking about until they decide to talk about it. So, if you've finished interrogating me, please leave my room."

"Do you know what I first thought when Persephone caught my attention?" Cyborg asked, ignoring the Boy Wonder's command in favor of a steely-eyed glare. "I thought that Terra had somehow revived herself and was saving Beast Boy for a few seconds before my mind clicked on. Now, answer me this: how could you believe for a second that they work for Slade?"

"That's none of your business," Robin replied coldly, not meeting the robot's eyes.

"Whatever you say, man," Cyborg retorted, shrugging and getting up to leave. He quickly walked out of the bedroom, but after the electronic doors had hissed shut, the Boy Wonder's stony facade dissolved. His head thumped against the wall as he slumped down on his bed, and a feeling of remorse tore through him as he remembered Beast Boy's reaction to Terra's sacrifice.

**TXXXXXT**

It was one in the morning and the Tower was silent… except for one thing: the door to Beast Boy's room was closing, and the green teenager was slowly walking to the main room. When he opened the door and saw that Persephone was sitting on the couch with the blanket Robin had given her still folded up neatly, he sighed in dismay: she was staring out the windows and hadn't even attempted to sleep. Beast Boy jumped over the back of the couch and sat down next to her with a soft groan.

"Couldn't sleep?" Percy asked questioningly, glancing at him with a blank expression.

"No, it's not that," he replied, rubbing the his neck with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Look… I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything that happened earlier. I shouldn't have cussed at you, and I feel nasty for making you… cry."

"Don't even try it!" Persephone instantly retorted, making him stiffen a bit. "Beast Boy, I should be the one apologizing right now, not you! I'm really, really, really sorry! I didn't have any right to say awful things about Terra! I'm just… sorry!"

"It's okay, really!" he protested, looking at her when she drew her legs up to her chest and began to cry. "Raven yelled at me before she went to sleep and told me that you and your brother weren't in control of yourselves! It wasn't your fault!"

"That doesn't make it okay," Percy retorted dejectedly, blue eyes sad; they sat together in silence for several long moments before the blonde girl lifted her head and looked at him: he watched as her large eyes flitted across his face, taking in his olive green skin and protruding right fang before her gaze settled on his ears. An amazed expression washed over her face and she timidly reached out to touch the pointy tip: his eyes widened when she cocked her head and traced her hands over the shape of both ears before touching her own. With a fascinated expression, she gently ran her fingers over his face and touched his dark green hair in curiosity… but when she tried to touch his fang, he abruptly clutched her bony wrists and held them in place.

"Dude, what are you doing?" he demanded, unable to stop the goose bumps from rising on his arms.

"I only wanted to see if you were the same as me! Really!" she squeaked, instantaneously flinching away from his other hand; recognition about why she was curious flared up in his eyes and he sighed, letting go of her arms; she jerked back with a violent shiver and nervously stared at the ground. "Will you guys ever be able to trust my brother and I after what happened with… Terra?"

Beast Boy didn't know what to say when she bit her lip and waited for his answer; he wasn't used to being asked serious questions like this—but then again, Persephone didn't really know that he was the joker of the team: she was new, after all.

"You earned some of our trust by saving our lives," he stated thoughtfully, then added with a grin, "now you just have to be yourself, I guess—which means not hiding your pointy ears all the time. Besides, if Raven trusts you… then we all can."

"Thanks, Beast Boy," Persephone replied, looking back out the windows. "I'm glad that all of you helped us."

"You haven't had a real home in a long time, have you?" he asked with a solemn expression; instead of hearing one of her cheeky replies, he got his answer when she covered her face to hide her eyes. "I thought so… you really are a lot like Terra."

"W-what do you mean?" Persephone asked, not sure if this was a good thing or not.

"She didn't have a home either, until she came here…" he explained, then trailed off and sadly stared out the window.

"You were close to her, weren't you?" Persephone asked quietly. "Did you… love her, Beast Boy?"

"Yeah, I did," Beast Boy said with a nod. "I was her best friend, and I trusted her more than anyone else on the team. She was the first person to see me as something more than an idiot who likes to make people laugh. She was the first person who ever hugged me without shying away from my green skin and animalistic appearance… she made me feel normal for a while, almost like I was a regular guy instead of the goofy class clown everyone knows me as."

"I'm sorry," Persephone said sympathetically; she also knew what it felt like to be betrayed by someone you loved. It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all, and she could only imagine how badly Terra's betrayal was tearing up his heart. He may have seemed like a giddy person on the outside, but she'd been through enough pain herself to recognize a mask when she saw one.

"I'm gonna go back to bed," he stated with a shrug, jumping over the back of the couch again. "G'night."

"Wait!" Persephone squeaked, leaping to her feet and standing there with clenched fists and shaking shoulders. Beast Boy stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around to acknowledge her command: Persephone slowly padded over to the changeling and hugged him from behind. She held him like that for about a minute before she turned around and went back over to the couch. After he was gone, she sighed sadly and lay down on one of the cushions before staring blankly up at the ceiling: she didn't think she would ever be able to sleep with her clothes on, so—after deciding that nobody would ever know if she'd slept nude just this once—Persephone carefully began taking off the hooded t-shirt she'd gotten right out of Terra's room.

She was just about to take off her bra and underwear when the hiss of the opening door made her freeze; whipping around when a glass teacup shattered on the ground, Percy saw that Raven was staring straight at her back with wide eyes and a pale hand clamped over her mouth. Her violet eyes were huge and she appeared to be completely stunned by what she was seeing.

"KYAAAH!" Persephone shrieked, hastily falling back against the couch and covering herself up with the blanket. When Raven abruptly glanced away from her, she wasn't thinking about the blonde girl's indecency; she'd turned away because she'd seen the state of her body. Persephone's slender back was ripped and scarred—almost as though she had been beaten and savagely abused by someone. The worst part was the fact that some of those scars were still scabbed over, which meant that the girl had been hurt very, very recently—as little as mere days prior to her arrival at the Tower. Nervously staring at the wall, the blonde shakily girl wrapped the blanket around herself: she was so embarrassed that she wanted to hide under a rock.

Struggling to stay calm, Raven used her powers to grab the shattered fragments of her cup and turned around.

"Those scars… didn't come from an accident," Raven rasped quietly, still feeling absolutely mortified by what she'd just witnessed by accident. "Is that why you're so afraid to let people come near you? Is it because you think we'll… hurt you?"

Persephone simply looked at her like a wounded kitten.

"Listen… I don't know what happened to you and Patrokalos, or even why you have so many scars, and unless you want to talk to me about it, I won't push you to tell me anything," Raven croaked out, giving the girl an uneasy look. "Still… just, try to remember that not all humans are like that, okay? Even though I'm… crude, and not really the best at expressing myself, I want you to understand that I will never intentionally hurt you or your brother. I… I'm sorry for walking in on you like this."

Persephone nodded before she hid her face; after a few moments of watching her try to hide her tears, Raven left the room feeling sickened and much more sympathetic about the plight of their new teammates. She'd figured that the twins had been abused by someone because of the jumpy way they'd been acting, but she hadn't believed that the blondes could have been through something so awful that it had given Persephone such terrible scars. And even worse, she had a horrible suspicion that Patrokalos had very similar injuries on his body since the two of them were always together. The thought of that made her feel sick to her stomach, and she decided to wait a little longer to learn about the twins' past as she slowly went back to her room.

Going through their memories seemed a little less enticing after what she'd just seen.

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone bolted upright just before sunrise, feeling as though she'd had a nightmare without knowing why. After looking out the window, she didn't think any of the Titans were awake, so she slipped out from under the covers and went up to the roof in the hopes of clearing her mind of the lingering fear that plagued it. When she got there, however, she found that Starfire was already sitting near the edge and waiting for the sun to rise. She truly was a beautiful girl, all things considered.

"Do… you mind if I join you?" Persephone asked quietly, catching the pretty alien's attention.

"Oh, greetings!" Starfire exclaimed, smiling excitedly as she patted the edge of the tower. "Sit with me, new friend!"

"Thank you," Persephone murmured, taking a seat next to the redhead. "Um, where exactly are you from, Starfire? Patty said you were an alien."

"I grew up on the planet Tamaran! It is such a wonderful place, but Earth is my home now and I could never leave it after experiencing its wonders," Starfire replied softly, rose red hair twisting in the breeze. "Are you from Earth, Friend Percy?"

"I don't know," the blonde girl explained with a small giggle of amusement. "Considering me and my brother are angels, I figure we're supposed to be in heaven right now, so who can really say? Anyway… what's going on between you and Robin?"

"What?" Starfire asked sharply, hastily glancing at her. "Going on? I don't understand what you mean."

"So, the two of you aren't dating?" Persephone asked, feeling genuinely surprised. "You both look like you're in love."

"Dating?" Starfire laughed, turning back to the sunrise. "No, Robin and I are just friends."

"I see," Persephone droned, turning away and staring at the ocean. "You guys have the perfect place to watch the sunrise."

"Indeed," Starfire sighed, tilting her head back with a blissful smile. "I come up here often."

"Does Robin come up here with you?" Persephone teased, smiling despite the feeling of impending danger in her gut.

"Sometimes," Starfire giggled, but then she caught herself and explained, "Robin explains Earth's culture to me."

"Starfire, may I tell you something?" Persephone abruptly asked, glancing up at the alien girl with worried blue eyes; the Tamaranian Princess smiled broadly and nodded eagerly, glad to be a part of something that had to do with 'the bonding' as she called it. Percy hunched inward before she timidly choked out, "I think… someone is trying to kill me and my brother."

"What did you just say?!" Starfire squeaked, losing her balance and falling off of the Tower edge before she flew back up and clutched Persephone's shoulders. "Who would do such a horrendous thing?! Please, new friend, you must tell me!"

"Well, you already know who he is," Persephone said quietly, eyes momentarily blanking out in terror, "and I have a really horrible feeling that he's looking for us again, but I don't know what to do. My brother is happy here, but I'm just… scared."

"Is it Slade?!" Starfire gasped. "I must inform Robin about this! He will know what to do! We must all protect you!"

"No, don't!" Persephone shrieked, instantly clasping the alien's hands. "Promise me you won't tell anyone!"

"Fine... then I shall give you my word that I will never break the bond of trust with you, Friend Percy," Starfire whispered, clamping both hands to her mouth as she resumed her seat. "And I will do my very best to protect you in any way I can!"

At that moment, the door slammed and Robin stepped out—causing Persephone to let out a squeak and Starfire a squeal.

"Good morning, Starfire," he said softly, giving her a smile before turning to Persephone. "Sleep well, Percy?"

"Yep!" Persephone mewed; she looked at Starfire and saw that the girl was blushing furiously.

"Good morning, Friend Robin," Starfire mumbled, staring at the sunrise with an awkward expression.

"Breakfast is almost ready, girls," he said, walking over to them.

"What a glorious morning to partake in a breakfast with our friends!" Starfire nervously exclaimed, standing up quickly so Robin wouldn't have to help her up. Shrugging at her response, he offered a hand to Persephone in an attempt to help her up, but the small blonde girl flinched and jumped to her feet before silently bolting down the stairs like a spooked mouse.

"Was it something I said?" Robin asked, staring after the small girl in confusion.

"Not at all," Starfire sighed before she, too, began walking down the stairs. "She is just feeling the hunger."

"If you say so," Robin murmured, pondering both girls' odd behavior; eventually he simply shrugged it all off as 'women stuff' and followed them. After two rounds of breakfast had been cleared from the table—Persephone had fixed up some non-dairy waffles with tofu eggs and bacon, and everyone had found that she had, indeed, been right in her accusations of tofu being delicious when cooked properly—Robin said that he had an announcement to make.

Patrokalos glanced up with eager blue eyes, but Persephone went rigid and turned her attention away from Starfire; she had been watching the princess listening intently to Robin all through breakfast then talking with him animatedly: the alien girl was obviously head-over-heels, and Robin was way too friendly for them to just be friends.

The Boy Wonder stood at the end of the table and turned to the twins.

"The Titans have been talking, and we'd like to invite you to our team," he stated, and the others nodded.

"Eh?" Persephone choked out, feeling extremely startled; after what she'd said about Terra, she'd been doubtful about whether they'd even want to be her friend, let alone invite her to be a part of their team. Letting out an excited squeak and shout, both blondes nodded vigorously and the Titans cheered as Robin handed each of them a communicator. Percy blinked and gently pressed it against her chest with both of her hands, glancing up at everyone present with big, watery blue eyes.

Patrokalos merely danced to himself, celebrating the fact that he was now wholly part of his new family

"Just remember, guys," Robin said sternly, fighting to hide a smile when they blinked, "this is your home now."

"Yeah, you two put together are the Sixth Titan!" Beast Boy laughed. "Since you both share only one soul, or whatever."

"No," Patrokalos replied with a smile, revealing his glittering fangs for the first time, "we're the second Sixth Titan."

"What should we call ourselves?" Persephone suddenly asked, making her brother and the rest of the Titans blink at her in confusion and surprise. "Well, you know what I mean! I highly doubt that Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg are your real names, so what should we call ourselves as superheroes? The Amazing Angels? The Musical Duo? What?"

"How about the Harmony Twins?" Patrokalos asked, glancing at his sister with bright eyes. "It has a nice ring to it, the majority of our powers are musical, and we always do things in harmony! The name fits… what do you think of it, Percy?"

"Ditto," the girl scoffed, blinking as a huge grin spread across her face. "The Harmony Twins are ready for duty!"


	5. Chapter 4: Silent Songs & Sundered Souls

**Chapter Four: Silent Songs and Sundered Souls**

Two weeks after they'd joined, Percy and Patty finally hit the gym with Robin for some training. Cyborg had already perfected a training exercise for the twins involving special targets that were designed to resist their musical power. Percy watched Robin and her brother train with their punching bags even as she pummeled a dummy with her frozen swords, slicing it in half before nimbly cart-wheeling away. She cocked her head as Robin punched his bag and it swung away; the girl waited for it to swing all the way back, but when it hit the top of its arc she pulled a prank with an expression of giddy delight.

"Hey, Robin!" Persephone called loudly, cupping her mouth. "What's going on between you and Starfire?"

His reaction was similar to the alien's: he turned sharply, eyes wide, and managed to emit a shocked squeak before the punching bag swung back and knocked him off his feet. Persephone let out a squeal of laughter when her brother leapt into the air, catching the boy under the arms and looking down at his shocked expression with an innocent grin after they landed.

"Well, I guess love hurts," the blonde boy chuckled, sticking his tongue out and making a silly face. Robin hastily pulled away from Patrokalos and stood up, dusting himself off after he'd climbed to his feet. The blonde boy instantly backed up a few steps as his sister came forward, staring at their new leader with an innocent expression of mirth on her pretty face.

"Starfire and I aren't… I mean, I don't… but I'm not in l-l-l…" he couldn't seem to finish his sentence and fell silent, looking away with a fierce blush as the past came back and nagged at him again. "Star and I are just—"

"Friends?" Persephone squeaked, giggling as she bounded out the door.

"So we've heard!" Patrokalos finished, laughing as he cheerfully followed her.

Despite their bold actions, Persephone was secretly glad to see that their teasing hadn't affected anything between Robin and Starfire. However, the two teens had started to avoid talking about each other whenever the twins were around due to a particular instance in which Starfire had been talking to Patrokalos and Raven. Starfire had said something about Robin being a wonderful friend, but the alien girl had abruptly stopped talking when she'd seen Persephone giggling with that silly 'this is too much fun' grin on her face.

That grin usually meant she was up to some sort of mischief.

"I know you know that I know," Percy had giggled, leaving Raven and her brother in the dark while making Starfire blush.

Along with working on their vocal skills in Cyborg's room, the twins had also begun meditating with Raven on a daily basis in a very hard attempt to gain control over their minds. They were very dedicated, but—as Raven had said countless times—it took constant practice. Still, even though the twins were progressing slowly, they was surely getting better. During one of their meditating sessions, Raven unexpectedly opened her eyes and turned to look at the blondes sitting next to her.

"You're doing much better, guys," the Empath rasped. "Let's take a break."

"Okay!" Patrokalos whole-heartedly agreed, glancing at his sister to see her nodding slowly; she'd never admit it, but the strain on her mind was becoming greater the more she tried to hold it back.

"Hey, Raven, can I ask you something?" Percy asked quietly, hooking a glossy strand of hair behind her ear.

"Um, sure," Raven hesitantly intoned, frowning a bit as she handed the tiny girl and tall boy a cup of herbal tea. She figured it would be something about what she'd seen the other night, so she braced herself for whatever was about to come.

"Have Robin and Starfire always been completely crazy for each other?" Percy asked, staring into her cup.

"What?!" Raven snorted in surprise, choking on her tea. "Um… yeah, pretty much."

"Thank the lord!" Patrokalos chuckled, sarcastically rolling his eyes. "I thought I was the only one who'd noticed."

"Wait, why aren't they together if they like each other so much?" Persephone inquired, frowning in confusion.

"They're both too shy to tell each other," Raven said with a shrug. "I suppose they're also afraid of rejection."

"And nobody's ever given them a hint that neither would refuse a date?" Percy asked, blinking in disbelief.

"Oh, I have—trust me on that one," Raven sighed, rolling her eyes. "They're just clueless."

"They need to save that drama for the soap Operas!" Patrokalos scoffed, and Raven smirked in amusement. "We definitely shouldn't mess with them, though… they're such a cute couple that I would hate to mess up their relationship."

"That's probably a good idea, all things considered," Raven replied, frowning when Percy took a drink of her tea and nearly choked on it, eyes becoming incredibly wide. "What's wrong, Persephone? Is something wrong with the tea I made?"

"No, it's really yummy!" the blonde girl squeaked. "It tastes so… soothing! Hey, have you ever tried green tea before?"

"No," Raven replied, giving a simple shake of her head. "I'm more partial to the healing effects of herbal."

"Well, the Japanese believe that green tea has astounding mystical properties," Percy stated thoughtfully, putting her finger to her chin as she tried to remember what she'd read in her cookbook the other day. "The stuff about it healing flesh wounds faster is a bunch of nonsense, that much is true, but I have to agree with the fact that it heals the state of mind. As for me, it usually has a very calming effect that leaves me feeling really sleepy, happy, and warm. I always get the tinglies afterwards."

"Yeah, and it's also good for insomnia," Patrokalos added, sipping his tea. "Korean people use it for mental disorders."

For the first time in her life, Raven actually began debating trying another kind of tea, although she didn't say anything to the twins about it. She didn't want them to know that she had taken a firm liking to them, or even how quickly those emotions had sprung up, so she remained distant: after the tea was finished, the three of them regained their meditation posture and closed their eyes. However, Cyborg abruptly startled the three of them by bursting into the room with Starfire, Robin, and Beast Boy close behind.

"Mail call!" he shouted, immediately causing Raven to fall out of the air with a startled cry while the twins leapt behind the couch with simultaneous shrieks and cowered in each other's arms. All three of them absolutely _hated_ being startled.

"I told you not to _do_ that!" Raven stated irritably, violet eye twitching violently as she glared.

"Dude, we got more fan mail this time," Beast Boy exclaimed, digging through the box and pulling out a letter. "Wow, I guess even you have admirers, Raven! This one is for you, and it's got little hearts doodled around the front of it!"

"I don't want it," the girl retorted flatly, pulling her hood up before glaring at the changeling. Percy and Patty slowly poked their heads up from behind the couch and watched with curious blue eyes as their new team and family sorted through their mail. However, after a few moments of hiding, Starfire noticed that they hadn't come out and flew over with a giggle.

"Friends, must you do the hiding all the time?" she whispered mischievously, sinking down between the two of them and joining in with their hiding with a happy smile. "Why do you hide yourselves over here? You are not still afraid of us, yes?"

"Shhh…" Percy whispered gently, not taking her eyes off the Titans. "We're not hiding, we're observing."

"Yeah," Patty added, blue eyes intense as he explained, "we wanna see how people are supposed to react to fan mail."

After a moment of blinking in confusion, Starfire poked her head over the edge of the couch and tried to see what the twins found so interesting about watching the other Titans read their fan mail. Quite frankly, she didn't find anything about it particularly eventful, but maybe she simply didn't understand the way her newest friends felt… that wouldn't be so surprising.

"EEK!" Persephone suddenly shrieked, clapping a hand to her forehead as she jumped up from her spot. All of the Titans flinched and looked at her in surprise, even her twin brother, who stared up at her with an expression of shock and alarm.

"What is it, Percy?" he stammered, blinking up at her. "Why'd you scream like that?"

"I forgot to go to the store today!" the blonde girl wailed, jumping up and down in horror. "I promised Beast Boy and Starfire that I'd make some more tofu for dinner, but I forgot to go buy more! Hang on, I'm gonna go get changed and run down to the supermarket before it closes! Raven and Patty, I'm really sorry, but I have to duck out on you for a little while!"

"We'll pick this up again after dinner, then," the hooded girl sighed, lips twisting up a little in amusement as the blonde girl frantically waved her arms and darted out of the room. Her hurried departure left six confused teenagers in her wake.

"Uh, dude," Beast Boy murmured, "we have tofu product in the basement freezer."

"Why didn't you say anything then?" Patrokalos scoffed, laughing as he got up and headed towards the door. However, just as he was about to pass Raven, he paused and flashed her a grin that made her blink in surprise. "Thanks for the lesson!"

"You're… welcome?" she asked, frowning in confusion when the boy continued on after his sister.

**TXXXXXT**

Percy and Patty had been Titans for nearly two months when the team presented their honorary hero outfits and some fighting tools to go with them. The group of Vigilantes had watched as the twins powers became stronger, observing how their mental control had solidified... and eventually growing happier that the twins had once again gotten everything they'd ever wanted: a family who loved their eccentric, mischievous, and childish personalities.

Patrokalos had quickly realized that he had a real talent in the areas of eating and playing video games—which had made him fast friends with Cyborg and Beast Boy. Persephone and Raven had become closer through their meditation training, and Robin was ever the gentleman towards _both_ twins and helped them train physically. Starfire, despite the fact that she was keeping Percy's secret, was the only person on the team that the twins hadn't really connected with yet. It wasn't because they didn't like Starfire or vice versa; they just hadn't had a chance to get to know one another.

The chance for them to become great friends, however, appeared on their two month anniversary.

"Now that the gifts have both been handed and put on," Robin said, holding up his pop can with a grin, "here is a toast to our newest and youngest members, Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius: the Harmony Twins!"

"Cheers!" the Titans cried in unison, lifting their cans and taking huge swigs.

Patrokalos, Beast Boy, and Cyborg didn't just take drinks, however; the three of them guzzled down their soda pop while the others waited for the first burp. Cyborg was the first, and he let loose with an incredible belch; Starfire clapped and Robin judged it as an eight. Beast Boy outstripped Cyborg, but just barely: his breath smelled like tofu, which made Starfire cough and Robin take off points for the smell. All eyes finally fell on Patrokalos, who had a look of utmost concentration on his face. After a moment, the blonde boy opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and released the mother of all burps. Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy cheered, Raven and Persephone rolled their eyes, and Robin gave it a ten. Patrokalos chuckled and stood up, giving a mocking bow.

"Hey, Cyborg?" Percy piped up, fingering the ribbon on the headphones he'd given her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, little lady, ask away," the bionic boy laughed, grinning down at her in amusement.

"What are these headphones for?" the girl quipped. "Oh, and how did you guys know we liked these kinds of clothes?"

"We've been watching the way you dressed," Robin explained, smirking at the blonde girl. "We took your new superhero outfits and had them all custom made to fit your specific clothing tastes. I was sort of surprised that they turned out so well. Cyborg had them custom-made from some music program he called 'The Vocaloids'."

"I based the outfits off of two characters named Rin and Len Kagamine, from a program called 'Append,'" the bionic boy admitted, wiggling his eyebrows when the twins blinked and stared in total confusion. "Rin and Len are supposedly two anime androids who were made to sing. They're mirror images of each other in the bio I read, but I thought their uniforms would fit _you_ guys since the majority of your fighting powers are actually musical. It seemed like the perfect basis for your Titan uniforms, but I will admit that I made some adjustments so it wouldn't look ridiculous on you. I think I did a better job than the Vocaloid artist did."

"Yes, they appear to be most wonderful," Starfire agreed, admiring the suits that resembled classy high-school uniforms.

The tops of their uniforms were incredibly unique, though: there was a uniform-like tank-top for both Percy and Patty, but the sleeves were disjointed from the shoulder and actually began just above the elbow. The sleeves themselves had an inner dark fabric that almost seemed to attach to their skin, while a sheer outer fabric billowed around their arms in a pleasantly flared manner. The lower parts of their outfits were simple, yet effective: Percy had a cute pair of short-shorts that matched the uniform-like top while Patty had a matching, much more masculine pair of shorts: strands of gleaming yellow ribbons stretched from the areas that were intertwined with their upper leg-sleeves that stretched down from just above their knees. The leg-sleeved were made of the same type of fabric as the arm-sleeves, but they billowed out much more and extended down to the ankles.

The ends of the billowing cloth actually covered up the tops of their white combat boots.

"As for the headphones and the necklaces I gave the two of you," Cyborg drawled, leaning forward and mischievously turning a dial on the girl's right ear; beautiful melodies instantly melted into the air, shocking the girl so thoroughly that she nearly fell out of her chair, "the headphones can transmit brainwaves holding musical tendencies and will allow the music floating around inside your head to take on a physical proportion. The necklaces are also indestructible amplifiers that will strengthen your voices right along with your mental music: they automatically activate when you turn on the headphones."

"Oh my God!" Persephone squealed, clasping her tall brother's shoulders as the violin music continued to echo out of the speakers and melted beautifully into the air. "Patty, this is the song we've been working on for forever but haven't had any time to create! I'm thinking what I want it to be like right now and it's coming out the way I'm hearing it inside my head!"

"Well, so far it's beautiful, I have to say," Patrokalos excitedly exclaimed, listening for a moment before turning on his own headphones; the sound of a grand piano and several other unnamable things immediately joined in with the violin music.

"Let's sing it!" Persephone breathed evilly, hurriedly looking at the Titans for approval—only to see that all of them were experiencing different reactions to their mental music.

Raven's eyes were closed and she was swaying slightly, obviously liking the slightly classical tune; Beast Boy was drooling and he looked a bit dazed; Cyborg was staring at them with raised eyebrows, impressed by the fact that their harmonious music sounded amazing; Robin grinned and gently waved his hands, silently urging them to sing and try out their new equipment; and Starfire merely gaped at them with awed green eyes.

"Yeah, let's sing it," Patrokalos agreed, taking his sister's hand as the opening music began to coalesce: the boy opened his mouth as his sister took a deep breath, but when the first lyrical notes left their lips in harmony… well, needless to say that every one of the Titans snapped to attention since it was the first time they'd ever heard the twins sing outside of combat. To put it simply, their voices were absolutely stunning; Patrokalos sang the opening verse.

_"Lost in darkest blue; endless labyrinths weaving through…._  
_Will you stagger on with no stars to light your way? _  
_Share with me your tears; all of your troubles and deepest fears!_  
_I remember when you chased all my shadows away…"_

_"Won't you take my hand? Come away with me from this land!_  
_Let me give to you… all that you have given to me…_  
_Fly horizon bound; find the moon behind darkening clouds!_  
_Even far apart, through our soul together we'll be!"_

As the violin lightened and the piano deepened, Patrokalos loudly began to sing as his sister harmonized with him.

_"When the Storm draws nigh, dreams will shatter before your eyes!_  
_Know that you're not alone!_  
_When our battle starts, I will comfort your restless heart!_  
_Know that together we're home…"_

_"When your star stops shining; endless vines around you winding…_  
_Know that you're not alone!_  
_I will give my all so your tears will no longer fall…_  
_Down, down on Sorrow's Stone…"_

Here the tune went wild with beauty: the titans were riveted by both the music and the nature of the song itself.

_"Look into my eyes: all eternity you will find._  
_In this fragile heart, know that you will always belong…_  
_Shout into the night; show the darkness that you will fight!_  
_Hopeless you may feel, but inside I know your are strong!"_

_"Keep me in your heart, so we'll never be far apart!_  
_Let the bond of love break the chains imprisoning you!_  
_Always you will find, shadows lingering close behind!_  
_Lift your spirits now, my twin, we shall be together soon!"_

At this point, Persephone joined in after and sang as well, her mesmerizing voice adding onto her brother's song.

_"When the Storm draws nigh, dreams will shatter before your eyes!_  
_Know that you're not alone!_  
_When our battle starts, I will comfort your restless heart!_  
_Just know that together we're home…"_

_"When your star stops shining; endless vines around you winding…_  
_Know that you're not alone!_  
_I will give my all so your tears will no longer fall…_  
_Down, down on Sorrow's Stone…"_

_"Know that your not alone."_

Patty's voice slowly faded into the background as the pace of the music changed into something different… yet, somehow it was very similar to the tune that the twins had first begun with: Percy soon took her brother's place as the lead singer, and he promptly backed her up with his voice. The harmonious song they were weaving had riveted all five of the Teen Titans with amazement, and they couldn't do anything but listen in sheer awe as the twins tested out the new tools they'd been given.

_"My heart underneath… cries quietly._  
_This part of me… I choose not to see._  
_How many hearts must I break … for my own safety's sake?_  
_How much more blood will stain… this red lake of pain_?"

The music suddenly became fast with the sound of tambourines and flutes, and Percy's voice came out high and sweet: if the twins ever sang like this in public, they would instantly become famous idols in Jump City.

_"Your Hate leaves it's trail in moonlight so pale…_  
_It's shadows they flow… in rivers and rivers._  
_I'll put on my mask; I'll go where they ask…_  
_So I might once again see the Roses of May."_

_"Staining my soul and stinging my eyes…_  
_The red on my hands… won't wash away, wash away!_  
_Nowhere to run… from what I have done!_  
_I'm no longer, no longer a Rose of May!"_

Percy's voice grew even softer, and Patty took this chance to harmonize his wordless counter-song a bit louder.

_"Fate now holds the Blade before you, mirrored in two Children's eyes._  
_Far from ourselves we flew into the perilous skies._  
_Then you said, 'Follow the path before you: fear will fall and courage will rise._  
_Let's leave all our tears behind us: far from where innocence lies.'"_

Here the music radiating from the headphones all but dropped off, aside from a gentle instrument that sounded oddly like a harp: however, Persephone and Patrokalos sang so incredibly that their audience got gooseflesh all over and started shivering pleasantly from the mere sound of their duet. All of the Titans were thoroughly enjoying the performance, and it showed.

_"In the cage of the Kings… there was no need for wings._  
_They chained us to stone… from feathers to bone._  
_Now you look at me… tell me, what do you see?_  
_You see, this costume we've weaved… is disfiguring me."_

After the last verse, Patrokalos finally joined in with his sister, deep voice adding to the sorrowful mood the two of them had managed to create. The boy's blue eyes had filled with tears and the girl's lips were trembling slightly: that alone had filled the song with the pureness of the emotion they were putting into it. The two of them pressed their backs against each other and interlaced their fingers as they finally sang in beautiful harmony, tilting their heads back until they were touching.

_"Your Hate leaves it's trail in moonlight so pale… _  
_it's shadows they flow… in rivers and rivers._  
_I'll put on my mask; I'll go where they ask… _  
_So I might once again see the Roses of May."_

_"Staining my soul and stinging my eyes… _  
_the red on my hands… won't wash away, wash away!_  
_Nowhere to run… from what I have done! _  
_I'm no longer, no longer a Rose of May!"_

_"'Storm clouds are creeping closer! Danger is drawing near!_  
_Why are we not protecting all that we once held dear?!'_  
_And you said, "Break Free of all that holds you: King's hand and Maiden's tears._  
_Run now into my arms: together we'll conquer our fears."_

The music finally died away aside from the harp: the twins slowly tightened their grips and sang the last verses together.

_"Led here by Fate; no longer afraid. Here now we lay… our Roses of May."_

The music slowly came to a halt and the twins glanced at each other with wide eyes: the possibility of just thinking music out loud was so incredible that they had to poke and pinch each other just to see if they were dreaming. However, the Titans abruptly leapt to their feet and began to clap and cheer for the performance—even Raven, who's mouth curled up into a rusty half-smile as she nodded her approval and quietly clapped for the twins.

Everyone was totally impressed with both of them.

"Dude, that was amazing!" Beast Boy cried, gaping at them in awe. "You're better than my favorite band!"

"Yeah, it looks like making those items was a very good idea," Cyborg chuckled proudly. "Boo-yah."

"I have to be dreaming," Patrokalos happily choked, turning off the mind headphones and allowing himself to sink into his chair with a deliriously pleasant grin. "Either I'm asleep right now, or I've died and gone to heaven. This just can't be real!"

"You're alive, and this is reality," Raven deadpanned, fighting back a reluctant smirk. "Don't warp it."

"Sorry," the blonde boy peeped, shyly averting his eyes. Robin's communicator beeped as he straightened back up, and the Titans fell silent to watch as their leader pulled it out and checked the call for help. Robin's eyes widened, then narrowed into slits behind his mask as he snapped it shut. He stood up and uttered one word that had an incredible effect on all of the Titans.

"Slade," Robin hissed, face contorting into a snarl of rage.

Percy and Patty both went bone white: the man who had murdered their siblings was, in fact, the Titans' worst enemy. The twins had been told about how Robin went psycho whenever it came to finding a new clue about the maniac's location. Both blondes wondered how the night would turn out as Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy—as a falcon—flew above the R-Cycle and the T-Car; they leapt from place to place using their abilities. Soon, the Titans came to the courtyard where Starfire and Beast Boy had first fought Thunder and Lightning. Everything was silent and the domino-like slabs of granite had been fixed since their last visit, as was the large granite ball at the end of the yard.

"Are you sure he was here?" Raven asked Robin.

"I'm almost posit—OOF!" the titan leader let out a grunt as he was unexpectedly thrown backward.

"Robin!" Starfire gasped, soaring over to him and helping him up as the other Titans glanced around nervously.

However, Cyborg eventually turned on his radar and gasped at what he saw.

"Slade's minions are everywhere!" he shouted, firing his sonic cannon dead ahead at something they couldn't see. Several explosions out of thin air proved to the other Titans that he was right. "They have some kind of cloaking devices on them!"

"How can we fight something we can't see?!" Beast Boy shouted, voice taking on a trace of hysteria.

"We find a way to see it," Robin snarled, whipping out his staff and racing forward. By some stroke of luck he managed to hit one; it fell to the ground, visible. All of the Titans were attacked at that moment: those who could fly did so, doing what they could to help. They looked rather strange, attacking thin air while being batted around by an invisible force: honestly, Cyborg was the only one doing any real damage, so Robin ripped a kind of metal wristband off a minion he'd downed.

"This is the cloaking device!" he barked, tossing it to Cyborg.

"Yep, this is it alright!" Cyborg called, throwing it to Raven and resuming his blasts. "Can't be broken from the outside!"

"It can be shorted out by a powerful blast of electricity!" Raven shouted at the twins, throwing the wristband. "Patty and Percy, heads up! If you can both use your powers on that thing then we might actually have a chance at beating these idiots!"

"How powerful of a blast are we talking, here?" Persephone called in alarm, expression becoming a little worried when her brother propelled himself into the air and caught it; the twins looked at the wristband after he landed, but then they zapped it experimentally and both of them grinned mischievously. "I suggest you all take cover or get out of the general vicinity!"

Once the Titans saw the expression on their faces, they all took the given advice and ducked out of the way. The twins propelled themselves into the air and soared up to the granite sphere, where they landed carefully on top of it. Neither of them would have much energy after doing this, but if it would help their friends… well, then they were going to try. Their eyes simultaneously began to glow neon yellow and their hair fanned out as crackling energy lanced down their arms, hissing loudly as they summoned their godly powers. Unleashing a massive wave of electrical energy, the air around the twins imploded with a clap of thunder and lightning roared to life with a flash of blinding light.

Wristbands instantly exploded all over the place and the robots began to appear—flickering into the visible spectrum as the twins' mentally generated electricity coursed through their bodies. However, both Percy and Patty went limp not even a second afterwards; their large eyes stopped glowing and they inexpertly toppled off the top of the sphere without a sound. Starfire abruptly swooped up from underneath and caught both blondes in her arms, flying back up to the sphere and setting them down on it with a worried look on her face.

"Percy! Patty!" she shouted over the sound of the battle. "Friends, are you okay?"

"Yeah, but that took up a little more energy than we were expecting," Persephone replied with a shaky grin, mirroring her brother's weak nod. Starfire smiled in relief, but Percy's big blue eyes flicked past the redhead's face before flaring neon yellow once again. Before the alien could react, the angel sent a wave of deadly wind ripping right past Starfire's face—so close to her skin that she felt the gale-force gust brushing against her cheek. The redhead shrieked as a robot was sliced into a million pieces right behind her back, falling to the ground in metallic chunks and disintegrating into miniscule metal particles.

"Thank you!" Starfire said, thoroughly shaken by the unexpected attack.

"What are friends for?" Persephone asked simply, smiling a little before she and her brother slumped backwards.

Though it was a small deed—and it seemed rather insignificant—from that moment on, Starfire and Percy became friends. Persephone became the one person that Starfire could really open up to and share the thoughts that Robin wouldn't understand. Raven and Starfire became a little closer through Persephone as well, and the twins felt like they were really fitting in now that they had become friends with Starfire. The battle ended without incident, but Slade hadn't shown his face: Robin figured he had simply called them out as another attempt to test the twins' skills, and he was on edge after the odd little display.

However, he didn't show it: Slade obviously knew about the twins because of the way they'd first been found, which meant they were in danger—but he didn't tell them because he didn't want them to worry. Unfortunately, Robin began to spend prolonged periods of time in his room again; Starfire was stopping outside his door for brief moments again; silence was settling over the Tower again; and the only ones who didn't understand why this was happening were Percy and Patty.

In truth, they were absolutely terrified since Slade knew they were living with the Titans.

**TXXXXXT**

On one rainy afternoon, the Tower was beyond quiet: Beast Boy and Cyborg were in the changeling's room playing video games, Raven was meditating on her own, Starfire and Robin were shut in their respective rooms, and Persephone was taking a nap in her bedroom, lying on a feathered blanket with her new uniform on.

She looked serene.

Patrokalos, on the other hand, had realized they were out of tofu and decided to go shopping.

He was currently at the supermarket, looking for the last of his supplies.

"What am I looking for again?" Patrokalos wondered, going over his shopping list with a thin finger and stopping on the organic soymilk. The boy instantly sighed, frowning in puzzlement as he looked around the crowded supermarket: it was pretty busy considering it would close in less than ten minutes, and several girls were looking at his Titan uniform.

The blonde boy tried to ignore the interested and amazed stares some of the customers were giving him, but it was still unnerving since most of the scars on his body were still healing; several people had already noticed this fact, and they had seen the Titan communicator strapped onto his belt: it was causing them to become interested about who he was. Patrokalos sighed and turned around, heading towards the milk isle before the girls around him could walk over and try to start up a conversation.

However, he was instantly confused by the way the signs seemed to shift in front of his eyes, and he was forced to stop dead in the store. Blinking twice and rapidly rubbing his eyes, he glanced at the signs again to see that they had remained changed; feeling puzzled, he tried to turn around and walk in the other direction, but his insides went cold when he realized that every single person who had been standing behind him was gone and the store was completely dark now.

It didn't even look like a store anymore.

"What the heck is… yikes!" he whispered, glancing around in fright as the walls began to peel away and he was suddenly somewhere else… somewhere much more sinister than a grocery store. The blonde boy immediately began to look around like a rational person, trying to figure out how to get out of the dark building so he could head back to the tower.

"Good evening, Patrokalos," a man wearing a one-eyed mask uttered from one of the benches in the darkness; freaked out by his unexpected appearance, the boy yelped and whipped around with both of hands covering his pale face.

"W-who are you?!" the boy all but squeaked as the wall next to the man's head blew up by accident; the masked figure didn't so much as blink his eye upon witnessing his display of uncontrollable power. "No… there's no way… you aren't real!"

"Oh, I'm very real… and I believe you already know me, Patrokalos D'Andesyrius," the masked man replied, casually looking at his glove and flicking some dried blood off of it. "I am the person who killed… oh, my, what were their names?"

Patrokalos went dead-white and stumbled backwards into the wall, shaking all over.

"Get away from me," the blonde boy whispered

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't do that," Slade casually replied. "In truth, I'm here to talk negotiations with you: I have no intentions of giving you and your sister back to that… facility. No, what I require is your assistance in killing someone."

"E-excuse me?" Patrokalos demanded, pale face becoming horrified. "I've never met anybody as stupid as you! Do you honestly think I'd help the monster who murdered every person we ever loved, and then locked us up with humans who tortured us to the point of insanity? I'm not a killer, Slade, and I never will be—so you just go away and leave me alone!"

"Perhaps I should clarify my statement," Slade stated, steely gray eye narrowing to a mere slit. "I have your new location pinpointed on a radar at my headquarters: your every movement is being tracked thanks to my technology. I've had you in my grasp from the moment you escaped it, Patrokalos… but I don't care about that any longer. Now, however, I am instructing you to get close to my current targets, the Teen Titans, and kill them… then you will bring your sister to me. If you do not, I will drag you and your twin back to my headquarters by force, be it alive or as a carcass. It makes no difference whatsoever."

"I'm not going to kill anyone for you, and I sure as hell won't be leading my sister to you!" Patrokalos roared, bristling with rage the moment the villain mentioned his naive sibling. "I'll never give her up to anyone for any reason, even if I have to sacrifice myself! Actually, Slade, I have a better idea: how about you just shut the hell up and leave before I get angry?!"

Flicking his new headset on, the blonde boy sang a rapid melody full of high and sharp notes, using his musical power to control the world around him: several shards of ice instantly exploded out of the air and hurtled toward the villain, but the frozen daggers shattered against the wall as Slade moved his head to the side, easily avoiding the attack. Patrokalos, needless to say, was absolutely dumbfounded by the fact that the villain had dodged it without even looking remotely afraid of him.

"You are obnoxiously loud, dear Patrokalos," Slade taunted, leering down at the stricken blonde boy.

"Stupid jerk! Just go away and leave me alone!" Patty angrily cried, clenching his fists as his eyes began to glow with a blinding yellow light; ducking as the wall above his head abruptly exploded, Slade nimbly avoided the blonde boy's attack.

"Very well, little boy," Slade said smoothly, rising from the seat and removing an object that suddenly extended into a staff of some sort. "I see that I will have to make some sport of you in order to get my will through that thick skull of yours."

"Shut up!" Patrokalos roared, and the earth beneath him cracked open as several vines whipped out of it and went flying towards the masked man; Slade dodged every single one of the violent plants and merely laughed at him. Infuriated that he couldn't hit the villain, Patty shouted in anger and charged at him with his shoulders lowered. Closing his eyes, Slade took a single deep breath and moved to the side as the boy's deadly vine whips smashed into the ground. Slade ducked and landed on his knees as two more thick vines crisscrossed above his head and moved to the side—feeling the rush of inhuman energy as he avoided getting his head caught in a thorny vice; the blonde boy was sent sprawling on the floor by a kick soon after.

"W-what the heck?!" Patrokalos squeaked in fright, unable to believe that the man could have avoided his swift attacks. Slade suddenly moved forward, lunging at him with a deadly intent in his eye; before Patrokalos could register what was happening, Slade's gloved fist slammed into his face—breaking his nose and sending blood spurting into the air. Abruptly falling backward from the momentum of the hit, Slade grasped the front of the boy's shirt and pulled him forward—avoiding yet another strike from the killer vines as he bashed the staff into his face.

The blonde struggled to remain on his feet, eyes glowing yellow as he attacked with blind fury. The villain sidestepped the tackle, swerved around the next three slices from his frozen swords, and bashed the blonde in the back of neck with the staff—sending him rolling across the ground and limply sprawling out on his knees. The amount of rage Patrokalos was feeling was indescribable, but by the time he raised his head, the villain's bloody hand was already smashing into his face again. Patty gasped and choked when he found himself single-handedly slammed against the wall by Slade, fist tightening on his slender throat; the boy's glowing eyes returned to blue.

They were shining with terrified tears, for memories of other people strangling him were now resurfacing.

"Do you understand now, little boy?" Slade purred deliciously, throwing the blonde to the ground after he had given up writhing and squirming under his grasp. "I am more than capable of handling you on my own. Energy, no matter what kind or how powerful it is, always suffers from the effect of being too loud. I have trained my ears to the utmost perfection and will hear nothing but a loud rush when you use it, making it easy to avoid your strikes. Now, are you going to continue this useless fight or kill the Titans for me? If you be a good boy, I might consider keeping you as a pet instead of torturing you to death."

"T-those were lucky shots!" Patty snapped weakly, wiping his nose clean and getting up again; a fierce wind was kicking around the blonde boy's frame, filling the hallway with the overpowering feeling of his energy, which was much stronger than the average Angel: there was, after all, a reason that he and his sister were called the only two of their kind. He shakily wiped the blood off his lips before folding his lanky arms, but he couldn't hide the violent shivers when Slade cracked his knuckles.

"Perhaps after this you will understand your place," he chuckled, then darted forward like a snake. Only two minutes later, Patrokalos was struggling to get up from the ground but failing miserably: his face was a bloody mess, both of his eyes were blackened, three fingers on his left hand were broken, he had several broken ribs, and his sense of purpose had been crushed.

"Stop… it," the blonde whispered, hardly able to move his head enough to look up.

"You have the tenacity befitting a true soldier, but you have the skills and prowess of an amateur," Slade chuckled nastily, planting his boot on the back of the boy's head for a moment. "You keep attacking me with your powers: after the beatings, someone smarter would realize that if it didn't work the first two times, a third plan should be made. The moment your energy didn't work on me, you should've made a secondary plan, and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth. You rely too heavily on those freakish powers of yours, and the moment they don't work the way you want, you lose all your focus and attack irrationally."

"Go screw yourself," Patty growled, but with a sudden stomp the man slammed his foot against his head.

"I could crush your skull, Patrokalos D'Andesyrius: you know that well enough right now," Slade pointed out

"Then crush it! I won't do this!" the blonde boy wailed. "I won't hurt anyone! Not my new family! Not them!"

"That's a real shame," Slade sighed, pulling a small ray blaster from his belt and aiming directly at his head.

"Wait just a moment," a cold voice stated; the masked man raised the gun and glanced over his shoulder.

"Oh? What is it?" Slade inquired, looking noticeably surprised. "It's not like you to stop someone from killing an angel."

"I would be more than glad to watch you kill him, but I have a better way of getting the boy's cooperation," this new arrival stated wickedly, chucking something into the wall right above Patty's head. "If he doesn't comply with us, I can kill many birds with one stone. You see, simply killing this little angel outright would pale in comparison with destroying him."

When Patrokalos heard that voice, he paled and his breath hitched: he instantly began to hyperventilate, since he would _never_ be able to forget the voice of the one who had tortured him and his sister in the years of never-ending darkness. It was none other than the head of the Facility, Dr. Vladmir: he was the most vicious and sadistic human the twins had ever come across in their short life. When he managed to glance up, Patty saw a long pole sticking out of the wall next to his head: it had been sharpened to a deadly point, but it held something that had been impaled upon it. The boy blanched when he recognized it and couldn't suppress the scream that ripped out of his chest; he abruptly turned away, skin turning a sickening bone-white.

"Well, it seems as though you already have," Slade noted, cocking his head to the side when he noticed the blonde boy's shaken reaction to his voice and what was on the pole. There was no possible way he could have seen what he had seen…

But there it was: the man had come to take him back into the darkness.

"No…" the blonde whispered, clutching his head with broken hands. "No, no, no… I don't wanna go back in the dark!"

"I bet this is bringing back some happy memories," the second villain whispered into his ear, shocking Patty senseless by appearing out of nowhere and sitting on his back. "If you don't help us, I'll take control of your mind and force you to, just like before. Then I'll rape that beautiful sister of yours and put her head on this stick once I'm finished having fun. I'll make sure you watch as I decapitate her, bleeding from the mouth and screaming… and all the while, you'll be under my control."

"No," Patrokalos whined, trembling violently as his electric blue eyes dilated with fright. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"Oh, yes," the man purred deliciously, watching in triumph as the blonde's pupils dilated and he began trembling violently against his will. "Oh, yes, little boy, I'll drain her blood into a cup and swallow it before I run this spike through her skull, and then I'll use my powers to make you lick it clean. I'll keep her head as a souvenir and make you look at it until you die alone."

"So, what will it be Patrokalos?" Slade inquired in that sickening voice of his. "The betrayal of your twin sister, or being controlled against your will and murdering her while being completely aware of it? I know you'll choose wisely, dear boy."

"STOP IT!" Patty screeched, shaking his head violently. "Stop it, stop it, stop it! Just go away! Please, no more!"

"I guess that settles your decision," Vladmir stated slyly, and he immediately took over Patty's mind; the boy's blue eyes abruptly turned red and he let out a horrified scream as his waking world went dark… and then slowly resurfaced into living hell.

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone mewled contentedly, rolling over onto her back and staring at the ceiling as she lazily hummed the tune that had been wanting to come out all afternoon. However, when something abruptly seared behind her eyes, her hands flew to her nose as an incredible pain ripped through it; electric blue eyes immediately becoming huge, the fragile girl let out a shriek and bolted upright in alarm as blood spurted out of her nose and began dripping through her pale fingers like a crimson waterfall.

The pain in her head was incredible…

"What the hell is happening?!" Persephone managed to choke out; another searing pain wracked through her left side and she collapsed backwards. She instantly tried to scream, only to find that her throat had locked up: the girl curled into a ball as more pain wracked her nerves, and it was only then that she realized what was occurring; her brother was being hurt, and she was helpless to find him in this condition.

Soon, she was in too much pain to think about what was really happening to him.

Patty… her Patty was being hurt!

However, when the pain lessened and abruptly faded into nothing, Persephone blinked in confusion and slowly sat up as the bleeding in her nose came to an unnatural halt. She was disturbed by what had happened to her, but when she impulsively glanced up at the rainy windows, a ripping feeling of horror shredded her chest and she choked on her terror.

Shrieking like a madwoman, Persephone fell off of the bed like a klutz and began scrabbling away from the window, scooting towards the walls like a blonde from a horror flick. With good reason, too: there was someone hovering in front of her window and staring down at her with crimson eyes. That was all she could make out before he shattered the window.

"Get away from me!" Percy shrieked, eyes flashing with terror as the silhouette began moving toward her. Letting out another hysterical scream, the small girl threw several objects at the intruder, but the projectiles were merely deflected by an unseen force. Percy suddenly heard Starfire screaming her name and pounding on the metal door of her bedroom, but there was nothing she could do. The blonde was terrified, and the Dark Angel inside her was slowly gaining power over her mind: she was starting to lose control of herself, which wasn't a good thing at all. Persephone tried desperately to quench her dark side, but she wasn't strong enough.

As the boy took a step toward her, her rage dominated and Percy lost control of herself.

"I told you to get away!" the blonde girl shrieked, thrusting her hands out as the air around her imploded; white flames blazed in the path of her hand, but the intruder kept coming. A cyclone of wind exploded around her body and expanded to the far reaches of the room before coming to an abrupt stop. She was breathing raggedly, but the boy hadn't even flinched.

Then her energy was fading; the intruder was draining her power and making her weak.

"STOP!" she wailed, clutching her head; the intruder halted momentarily, but only because he realized that Percy hadn't been yelling for him to stop. Percy held her face in her hands, tears running down her cheeks, but before her mind could return to normal she was struck by a gust of wind that sent her flying into the wall. Persephone choked on the blood that began streaming down her throat when the wind was knocked out of her before she managed to fall out of the dent in the metal and crawl jerkily towards the door. She was frantic to get away from her attacker, frantic to escape from his unholy wrath.

"Percy," the intruder hissed, closing his red eyes as several vines whipped toward her through the air, "run away…"

"S-STARFIRE, HELP ME!" Persephone shrieked, letting out a strangled wail as she was jerked out the window.

**TXXXXXT**

Raven suddenly sensed that something was wrong, but she was unsure of what it was.

She slowly stood up and closed her eyes, trying to figure the source of the disturbance, but then a bloodcurdling scream split the air and she recognized the high-pitched soprano instantly. Violet eyes snapping open wide, Raven whirled around and bolted to the door. When the Empath reached Persephone 's room, she found that the other Titans were already there and struggling to get inside: the door had apparently locked on itself.

Starfire was pounding on it and Cyborg was trying to reset the access code, but the pad merely shorted out. The Tamaranian Princess slammed her fists against the door over and over again, but when she heard a window shattering she stopped pounding to listen: the Titans heard Percy shrieking hysterically, but when Raven closed her eyes and tried to contact the blonde girl's mind, she understood immediately what was happening.

"Her second soul is struggling to take control!" the Empath shouted. "She can't hold out much longer!"

"Persephone, we are coming!" Starfire shrieked as she began to force the door open; however, a deafening crash sent all of them jerking back a few steps and they stared at the wall next to the door. It had a huge dent in it, as though something large had just smashed into the metal. Not even a second later, three chilling words froze the blood in everyone's veins.

"S-STARFIRE, HELP ME!" Persephone shrieked from inside the room, crying hysterically as more crashes thundered through the metal door; the mentioned alien girl jerked when Percy called for her, and she grit her teeth with an unfamiliar emotion when she heard the blonde girl screaming again; then there was nothing but a sudden, chilling silence on the other side of the door. Starfire, feeling terrified by the unexpected absence of sound, blasted the metal doors apart with a star bolt.

However, when they all sprinted inside they saw that the room was empty: Persephone was gone.

"No way! Did she do all of this?!" Beast Boy gasped; the entire bedroom was destroyed and the floor by the window was covered in glass. The Titans stood transfixed in the doorway, but there was something on the floor where Persephone had been moments before. Robin walked over and slowly picked it up: it was a round gold disk bearing Slade's mark. The Boy Wonder walked over to the shattered window and stared at the rain-soaked city, whispering one word—the same word he had said so many times in his head, the word he'd hated since the first time he had ever heard the sound of it.

"Slade," Robin hissed, and the Titans stared at him in shock.

"We can't let him take her, Robin," Starfire whispered, slowly walking up to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"We won't let him take her away, I promise," Robin muttered, stroking her back comfortingly.

"But Robin, there is something you do not know," Starfire sobbed, covering her face. "Friend Persephone told me not to tell this to anyone unless it was necessary, but I fear that it has become so now."

"What are you saying?" Raven demanded, clutching the girl's shoulders.

"Slade wants to… murder friends Percy and Patty," Starfire sobbed, wiping her eyes. "Persephone did the begging most tearfully for me to protect them and not let Slade take her or Patrokalos away, but it appears that I have broken my promise."

Cyborg abruptly bolted from the room, looking worried.

"Dude," Beast Boy whispered, looking a little sick. "I knew Slade was bad, but I didn't think he was capable of killing."

"Yo, Patty is missing, too!" Cyborg exclaimed, running back into the room. "He's gone! They're both gone!"

**TXXXXXT**

After struggling fiercely, Persephone managed to use what remained of her power to break free of the boy's grasp and fell down to the ground. She landed hard on her side and splashed painfully into the mud, knocking the wind out of herself; when she finally sat up and looked around, she realized that she was lying in the middle of a crossroad. Persephone glanced at her attacker with terrified blue eyes when he landed in front of her. However, the girl's elfish ears drew back and she twitched in unholy shock; the boy was her brother, Patrokalos, and his face was totally expressionless as he wiped the blood off of it.

"You scared the hell out of me, Patty," she sighed, giving him a relieved smile; Patrokalos examined Persephone with cold crimson eyes, looking over her frail physique with a twisted expression on his ashen face. "That was a really good prank."

"I'm not joking, Persephone," Patrokalos answered nonchalantly, folding his arms over his chest and causing more plants rip out of the ground—crisscrossing around his body so the rain kicked out around his drenched form. Persephone tensed at the sight of his hostility and bent low on her knees in preparation for an attack: her brother was acting very strangely, and she couldn't sense his consciousness… which meant that someone was possibly controlling him, and she needed to be prepared, just in case this confrontation devolved into a deadly battle.

However, it was a battle that would be very bad for her to fight.

_If I hurt him, I'll get hurt just as much,_ Persephone thought, flicking through the situation and trying to figure out how to survive without killing her brother and herself by accident. The Angels abruptly lunged forward and the vine whips flashed out in a maelstrom of attacks while gusts of wind sliced them into pieces. It quickly became apparent that Patrokalos was trying to kill her instead of maiming her, for he was striking would-be lethal blows at her head and heart. Those blows were only avoided thanks to Percy's quick intuition; more vines and ice shards whipped toward the girl, trying to end her life. Percy continued to duck and repel even though she continuously found herself on the defensive end; hardly a minute passed before she was sweating.

Patty—while breathing heavily—was abnormally calm for someone with such a childish personality.

Swerving to the side, Patrokalos lunged to the left and swung a vine behind Persephone's back, whipping it around before sending it flying straight at the back of her head: the blonde girl squeaked and defensively created a wall of compressed air in am attempt to repel the incoming attack.

It only half worked, however: Persephone managed to slow the attack, but couldn't stop it completely because air, even compressed, wasn't solid. The crack of her jaw resounded in the forest as the force of the blow spun her around in circles like a rag doll, and she vaguely wondered if her lower mouth was still connected to her face.

"OW!" she shrieked, tears stinging her eyes; she didn't register that Patty had leapt into the air, but the girl still covered her head with a lightning shield on instinct. It was a wise decision, as the blow that struck her would've taken her head off; instead, the lethal attack merely slammed her face into the ground. Percy rolled to the side as the muddy earth was slashed by a few deadly vines: she watched with huge eyes as one of Patty's vines tore a tree out of the ground, making it scream in pain.

"You know what, little girl?" Patrokalos sneered as a vein bulged in his forehead. "I tried to kill you quickly in order to keep your brother from suffering more than he already has, but you're being a real pain in the ass. Just die already, dammit!"

"EEP!" Persephone squeaked, propelling herself into the air in order to keep the massive trunk from flattening her. As she was coming back down to the ground, she felt a massive vine slamming into her gut. With a quick flick of his wrist, the mindless angel slammed his twin sister into the muddy ground. Choking, coughing, and in most part cursing the person that recently she thought to be the greatest being in the world, Persephone struggled to stand up again as the metallic scent of her own blood began flowing from her body.

She couldn't stand it: fighting her twin brother was making her sick to her stomach.

"Don't get up," Patrokalos said sternly, watching as his sister fell back to her knees and clutched her left side; blood was beginning to stain her white Titan uniform, making it a dark red. "Just lie down like a good girl and I will end your suffering."

"Stay away from me! You're not my brother!" Persephone shrieked, flicking her blonde hair out of her electric blue eyes; her plea went utterly ignored and a wave of ice shards sliced through the air—aiming for her slender neck. Percy weakly jumped back and once again collapsed to her knees, writhing around and arching her back as pain assaulted her battered body.

"Idiot," Patty growled, striking again and again and watching as his sister dodged, ducked, and avoided his strikes—but also knowing that the girl was growing more and more tired. It was only a matter of time before fatigue got to her and she wouldn't be able to avoid or block the next attack. "Well, well, well… have you decided to submit to your end, little girl?"

Persephone struggled to get back on her feet and then landed painfully on her back, her arms, legs, and torso throbbing with fatigue. With a few casual steps, Patty stomped hard on his sister's small hands—pinning them down. Percy's watery blue eyes became huge when her brother glared down at her, and she instantly wondered why his eyes had turned neon pink.

However, her terror spiked when she saw the deadly water blades swerving around the blonde boy's body.

"No, I can't die like this," Percy whispered as time halted, the shimmering energy reflecting in her blue eyes as the blades hovered above her pale throat. "The real Patty needs me! Starfire and Raven need me! Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin all need me! And I need them, but they don't even know it yet! I have to win! I have to live so I can tell them that I need them all!"

"What a shame," Patrokalos pouted in a sardonic baby voice. "Talking to yourself, even at the very end."

"Come on! Get up! Get up!" Persephone whined, squeezing her eyes shut. "Someone, help me!"

"Farewell, little girl," Patrokalos sneered, and with those final words he struck out with an ice blade—ready to decapitate his twin sister in an instant. Persephone's big blue eyes suddenly flew open and she let out a gasp of utter shock as her heart skipped a sickening beat: without warning, her vision exploded into white and something primal awakened inside her soul.

**TXXXXXT**

Vladmir stared incredulously through Patrokalos' eyes as the blonde boy's arms were unexpectedly pinned to the ground by Persephone, who's eyes had unexpectedly become blank and unresponsive to the world. Somehow, without warning, the angel had turned feral and summoned the Angel of Wrath, a feat that was impossible for a split-being to achieve all alone.

She shouldn't have been able to do it without Patrokalos at her side.

"What's going on?!" Vladmir growled in shock, struggling to lift a hand and finding such a feat impossible. "This isn't possible at all! She was barely able to move a second ago, much less summon her full powers! Unless… she's close to her awakening…"

As her shoulder-length blonde hair billowed out around her bloodstained body, the glossy locks turned a silvery-white from the roots down and Persephone's blue eyes flared to a deep crimson before shrinking to small red slits. A whirlwind of dirt and vegetated debris flew around her slender form like a hurricane as she stood up, and Vladmir realized that she was on the verge of exploding with godly power.

Without warning, Percy propelled herself into the air with a concussive thunderclap and launched herself at Patrokalos, snarling as an animalistic look of blind rage swept across her fragile face. One of the vines swerved and struck from above, but Persephone avoided it by twisting in the air like a ballet star—moving at amazing speeds as she flipped and spun. Vladmir was absolutely stunned by the way she had changed from being fearful to totally enraged.

"She's so fast!" the man cried, wondering why the girl had suddenly become like this—but really having no time to delve on the matter as a volley of lightning bolts lanced down like instantaneous missiles. Outnumbered and outsized when it came to the force of the energy, Vladmir finally found himself running around—ducking and dodging death at mere centimeters.

He couldn't let the body he was in control of die or his consciousness would fade with it.

Percy lifted her arms as electricity crackled down her limbs; Vladmir's eyes widened and he shielded Patty's retinas when the blonde girl conjured a deafening wave of lightning and hurled it at him. The forest echoed with the sound of a thunderous explosion that shook the earth for miles, and a blast of light illuminated the entire west horizon. The battle had turned vicious in an instant: for the first time ever with an Angel, Vladmir found himself on the defensive end and was narrowly avoiding the deadly musical and elemental attacks that were being thrown at him: two lightning bolts cracked over Vladmir's head, a large frozen blade narrowly avoided slicing Patty's body in half, and when several wind-blades were hurled at him, Vladmir very, very narrowly avoided being sliced into a million pieces.

However, right after dodging that attack, he found just enough of an opening to bypass Persephone's defenses: drawing back Patrokalos's fist and summoning an elemental blast of electricity, Vladmir swung hard at the girl's face with a thunder-punch. Percy was bashed in the head and blown clean off her feet by the electrical blow, small body flying straight into a tree: she slid back down to the ground, leaving a red smear on the wood.

_Someone… help me… it hurts… _

The young girl struck from behind with a barrage of wind-blades: she wasn't taking the time to look behind her, simply attacking to push Patrokalos away in case he had come too close. Unfortunately, even though the move was incredibly smart, it ultimately ended up being futile since her twin brother had already sprinted to the side and was striking another electrical blow against her diaphragm, knocking the air out of her body—as well as a good bit of blood. The girl's crazed red eyes were slowly beginning to fade back into their sparkling blue: when a vine snapped around her neck and lifted her into the air by her throat, they returned to normal only a split second before she was slammed headfirst into the ground. When she weakly tried to stand up, she was lifted high into the air once again and slammed down on her back. If she hadn't felt her legs, the blonde girl would've thought she'd been paralyzed.

Then Patty was standing above her and stepping on her arms… leering at her.

_It hurts… make it stop… make it stop… make it stop! _

A loud snap suddenly filled the air and Persephone gasped, blue eyes rippling like water when she felt several bones in both of her arms give way from the force of her brother's weight. A single moment of calmness occurred before the burning pain seared from her arms and ripped up her spine, passing over her entire body in a wave of agony. Unable to take the surge of blinding pain, Percy let out a hysterical shriek before a foot was crushed against her neck, effectively cutting off the sound.

Patrokalos looked almost demonic standing above her now, especially with his lips curled into that sadistic sneer…

Wait… she knew that expression! She knew it like the back of her hand!

"Doctor Vladmir?!" she choked out, blue eyes flying open wide with sheer and utter terror. "No, no, no, no!"

"Well, it seems that you haven't forgotten me… good. So, tell me, little Persephone… does it hurt?" Vladmir snickered, pressing harder on the girl's arms. Persephone wanted to remain defiant, wanted to say no and glare up at the man controlling her twin brother with conviction in her tearful eyes, but there was no conviction left: her last bit of conviction had been used up during her moment of spontaneous anger, and now she was trapped in a world of agony—unable to move and blinded by the pain that was filling her entire body.

Instead of glaring at the man controlling her brother, Percy burst into strangled tears.

"Oh, my god!" a female voice cried when the Vladmir began to crush her windpipe; the villain instantly stumbled, then cursed himself for even daring to hesitate. After a moment, he glanced up to see a middle-aged woman dropping her purse in shock and horror: the woman's long brown hair twisted in the wind as she stared at the scene in front of her, stunned green eyes locked on the two blondes in front of her. However, she covered her mouth with a horrified gasp the instant she saw the blonde girl's wounds: the woman stepped back for a moment with an uneasy expression on her face, but then she glanced at Persephone's bleeding body and grit her teeth.

With shaky movements, the woman grabbed her purse ran over to her side.

Much to Vladmir's unpleasant surprise.

"I don't know what's going on here, but get off of her arms right now!" the woman shrieked, looking at the broken body of the girl who was currently being pinned to the ground. "What did you do to this poor girl?! I'm calling the police!"

"Excuse me?" Vladmir questioned, eyes darkening with hatred; when Percy saw her brother about to strike at the woman with a vine, her heart skipped a beat and she instinctively retaliated to save the life in front of her. The blow hit her brother so hard across the face that it sent him flying into a tree, where he bashed into it headfirst; the woman had been looking down at Persephone with shock on her face—but the sound of Patrokalos yelping pain made her turn around; when she saw the blonde boy sliding down the bark of the tree in a painful-looking upside-down position, she did a double take and rubbed her eyes.

"What just happened to him?" she muttered; then she looked at Percy. "Never mind… we have to get you to a hospital!"

"Go away!" Persephone whimpered as pain roared through her. "It's too dangerous for a human like you to be here!"

"Did you just say a human like me? Okay, we're calling you an ambulance and you're going right to the ER!" the woman fretted, wringing her hands before digging around for her cell phone. "I think you're becoming delirious from the blood loss."

A sudden thud filled the air and the young woman unexpectedly went limp; Percy looked up just in time to see the toe of a heavy-looking combat boot sailing straight for her face before her own world exploded into stars and she blacked out.


	6. Chapter 5: An Angel's Wings

**Chapter Five: An Angel's Wings**

When Persephone woke up, she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there.

The blonde girl tried to sit up, but weakly collapsed back down onto the concrete, clutching her aching head as the room spun violently. She was on the floor of a large, round room, and the only light inside it was—from floor to ceiling—coming from the glass windows that circled around the entire room. After taking a glance at them, she saw that it was still dark and raining outside. Upon remembering the injuries she'd suffered, Percy wasn't exactly surprised to find that her body wasn't in a better state than before. Feeling afraid, the girl slowly stood up before dizzily limping over to the windows. After taking a glance outside, however, she blanched and fell flat on her backside—trying her hardest not to vomit from the fit of extreme vertigo that had overtaken her mind: the room she was trapped in was, in reality, very similar to the top of a space needle.

"I see you're enjoying the view," an all-too-calm voice said from behind her; Persephone abruptly whipped around to see a masked man standing in the center of the room, clutching her flailing brother by the throat while Dr. Vladmir stood behind him and grinned psychotically; her brother's eyes were no longer pink, but he appeared absolutely terrified of the two men.

"Patrokalos!" Percy shrieked in alarm, then turned to Slade and roared, "Let my brother go, right now!"

The masked man's eye narrowed in amusement as he approached, dragging her twin along.

"I only wish to give you an offer, little one," he said, throwing the battered boy on the ground in front of her feet. Percy attempted to summon her powers, but she was still far too weak; really, after her brother's almost-killing, she should have felt lucky enough to even be thinking clearly. Too weak to move, the blonde boy did nothing but lay there and pant weakly.

"What do you want from us?" Persephone whispered, staring at the man as her legs turned to rubber.

"I have learned a lot about you two," Slade said, still walking forward and kicking her injured brother aside; Patrokalos glared and frantically tried to clutch his leg when Percy backed up against the windows. "Your powers are incredible for such a young girl, but you do have some balance problems that I can help you with. I can teach you about the balance you crave."

"Don't," Patty choked out, struggling to twitch his hand in his sister's direction. "Don't listen to him, please!"

"Silence! Or your head will end up on the pole I promised your little friend," the man in the shadows sneered, waggling a condescending finger. Slade was barely a foot away from Persephone now, and Patrokalos tensed when he placed his gloved hand under her delicate chin and tilted her head up so he could stare into her shimmering blue eyes. She glared back at him defiantly, but the man could tell she was absolutely terrified of him: her dilated pupils proved her fear, pure and simple.

"Work for me, and you will have everything you ever wanted," Slade purred seductively.

"W-what?!" Persephone squeaked, fear burning away into rage when she realized what he was trying to do; the small girl managed to use her shoulder to shove him away from her. "No way! Never! Never, ever! I'll never work for you, not after you killed our siblings, corrupted Terra, and especially not after you hurt my brother! I already have everything I've ever wanted!"

"Do you really believe the monster lying on the floor over there cares about you?" Slade asked, grey eye narrowing behind his mask as he brought his face close to hers. "Oh, and perhaps you even believe that the Titans are your true friends? Or that they could ever love a nasty little monster like yourself? Because that's all you are, Persephone: a monster with a pretty face."

"Shut up, you psycho! We're not monsters! We're not!" Percy shrieked, clutching her head in both hands as her elfish ears pointed toward the floor in protest. "The Titans are our best friends! They're like our family! They'll come for us, I know it!"

"Perfect," Slade hissed, and the room instantly lit up.

Persephone's head snapped up and her heart palpitated when she realized that she was utterly surrounded by Slade's robots. When they flew in for the attack, she tried to fight them off—but her arms were broken, she was still bleeding profusely, and she had no energy to fight. The robots quickly closed in around her and cut off her maneuvers; before she could do anything, she was slammed against a tall metal panel in the back wall. Patrokalos was dragged over afterwards and soon the twins were tied to separate panels by broad black straps that stretched horizontally across their bodies. One strapped across the twins' shoulders, another across their wrists and waist, another across their knees, another over their ankles, and the final one secured their necks.

Patty went limp in defeat before he turned his head slightly and helplessly watched his sister struggle against the straps. However, they only became tighter as she fought. Persephone finally found the energy to call out her wind blades, but none of them did her any good since they were only partially formed because of her wounds. Slade watched her struggle with amusement and chuckled when she glared.

"I think it's time we let your… friends know that you and your brother are now in very good hands," he chuckled nastily, pressing a button on the remote that he held clasped at his side; a screen buzzed to life a few yards in front of the twins, and Slade shielded their bloodied forms from the screen with his own body as he gleefully waited for the Titans to answer his call.

**TXXXXXT**

The Titans had been trying to find where Slade had taken the twins when it happened: as it turned out, they didn't really need to find the maniac because he appeared on the big screen of his own accord. The second the transmission came on, the group of worried teenagers immediately gathered before it and glared at the man on the screen with hateful expressions.

"Where have you taken them?! If you've hurt them, Slade, I swear that I'll—" Robin roared, startling everyone with the unusually venomous outburst; Cyborg stared at him knowingly before glaring at the screen.

"Patience Robin: your new friends are very safe," Slade replied, giving a nasty chuckle before stepping aside. "In fact, they're both right here with me, feeling happy as a couple of clams who just had the living meat picked from their bones."

"P-Percy?! Patty?!" Robin spluttered, face going sickly white upon seeing their conditions.

Starfire gaped at the sight of Persephone and Patrokalos tied to the wall, but she nearly fainted for the first time in her life when she saw the state the twins were currently in: Patty, although he was still glaring, had several bleeding gashes in his skin and small splotches of blood had stained his new uniform. Percy, on the other hand, was more gravely than him by far: the struggling girl's arms were twisted at awkward angles and bent disturbingly in several places; blood had utterly soaked the uniform she was wearing; her pale face was bruised and swollen, her lips were split, blood was trickling from her nose, her head was bleeding from a gash that had been opened in her temple, and her ankle was twisted to the side as a grotesque-looking bulge pressed against the skin. As the Titans watched in horror, Patty went limp and Percy struggled against her bonds with every ounce of power she had left.

"What did you do to them…?" Cyborg whispered hoarsely.

"Oh, my… if you're so worried about their horrible conditions, come and get them," Slade suggested slyly; Persephone's electric blue eyes widened on the screen and she instantly began thrashing around hysterically, screaming her head off.

"No, no, no! Please, don't do it! Don't listen to him! Don't come here! It's a trap!" the blonde girl wailed, struggling as hard as she could until another strap unexpectedly secured itself over her mouth. They heard her muffled shrieking and saw her crying with huge, frantic blue eyes as she strained with all of her might to break free. Slade suddenly pushed a button and the straps became live with electricity: Raven pressed a shaking hand to her mouth, watching with large violet eyes as Patty arched his back with strangled roar and Percy squeezed her eyes shut, a muffled shriek working its way past the leather strap.

The two of them were being shocked to the point of electrocution.

The straps around their necks tightened as the Titans watched, choking the crying blondes so much that asphyxiation was becoming a very big possibility. Beast Boy stiffened and a felt familiar fear surging into his chest when Percy's eyes suddenly rolled before she stiffened and went limp; it was the same type of fear he'd felt when he'd realized that the last time he would see Terra smile at him would be in the presence of an erupting volcano. He started shaking when Patrokalos collapsed with a strangled groan and stared straight into his eyes through the screen: those blue irises were burning with fierce desperation.

"Please… if you really care about me and my sister… don't get hurt over worthless monsters like us," he begged in a pleading whisper, pale blue eyes appearing fevered and frantic before his head lolled forward and he fainted as well; after a moment, Slade chuckled nastily and the screen went black. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg all stared at the blank screen in horror, Starfire buried her face in Robin's cape, and the Boy Wonder—who felt utterly livid when he remembered how the twins' big blue eyes had sparkled after they'd been accepted as a part of their team—punched the computer panel angrily.

This time… this time Slade had taken it too far: they were going to get even for the sake of getting even.

"Did you trace the signal?" he snapped at Cyborg. "If you didn't, I don't know what I'll do to you… but it won't be nice."

"Yeah, I did," the black boy calmly replied. "He's at the Needle."

"Let's go, then!" Robin hissed, turning to look at his team with a fire rarely seen. "The Harmony Twins warned us that this was a trap, so we'll be ready for whatever he throws at us now. Titans, we're bringing our new friends home, safe and sound."

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone took deep, calming breaths and slowly opened her eyes as the pain lashed against her body. Every inch of her marred skin seared with the agony of the first shock, and now the pain of her injuries had been tripled. Her powers were no longer of any use: her brother had attacked her against his will because of a madman's mind-control, the two of them were now being held prisoner, her friends were walking right into a horrifying trap, and all of it was happening because of her.

_Maybe they'd be better off if Slade just tortured me to death,_ she said silently, pointed ears drooping as more of the blood dripped onto her pale collarbone. Slade had disappeared, but his robots stood like statues all over the room, keeping the twins under their watchful mechanical eyes. Deciding not to go down without a fight, Percy tightened her muscles and struggled against her bindings again: the straps stretched slightly, but then they tightened even more and her strength failed her. Finding no other solution, she closed her eyes and began to meditate on the problem.

However, the moment she entered a peaceful state of mind, her bindings tightened and both she and Patty were shocked again. Her brother hissed at the same time she bit back a scream, but both blondes shut their eyes tightly until the pain ended. When Percy finally opened her eyes again, she found that her cheeks were wet with tears that she couldn't recall shedding: Slade was also standing directly in front of her.

His unexpected appearance nearly made the girl wet herself.

"Have you changed your mind about my offer?" he asked, cocking his head when he noticed how she twitched.

"Stupid jerk! Let us go! Let us go right now!" she shrieked, then proceeded to call him several names that weren't suitable for children. After that she began struggling against the straps—itching to pummel every inch of him into paste for hurting her new family and her brother. Soon she reverted to another language; he didn't understand exactly what she was saying, but he got the idea and laughed. Then he pressed the button again and shocked the twins into screaming with the remote in his hand.

"I take it that your words mean 'no,'" he snickered as Persephone tried to breathe.

"Stop it," she begged through gritted teeth, squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't hurt Patty anymore! Make the pain stop!"

"Dear girl, you ask such mercy for someone who tried to kill you only an hour ago?" Slade asked calmly.

"IT WASN'T PATTY! IT WAS DOCTOR VLAD!" Percy wailed, convulsing slightly. "PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Slade sneered, but the rest of his sentence was cut off as a huge explosion echoed around the room and a hatch in the floor that led down to the stairs blasted open. When the smoke cleared away, Persephone saw that the Titans stood in the center of the room, each one looking murderous—but none so enraged as Raven, surprisingly enough.

_So much pain…_ Percy hazily thought to herself, eyes sliding shut from the exhaustion she was experiencing. She hated herself for being weak, but she hated the fact that Slade had taken her so easily even more. He had gotten to her brother, her one weakness, and had used him as a shield. Then she heard her friends shouting, igniting the hope that they cared for her.

"Let them go!" Starfire shouted, red hair billowing out like a cotton ball from the force of her rage.

"You sadistic little bastard!" Raven hissed at Slade, glowing white eyes slowly turning red after she sensed what was going on in the twins' minds and feeling their prolonged agony for herself. "I'm going to destroy you for doing this to _my_ twins!"

_Did she just say that we're her twins?_ Patty wondered, trying to figure out whether or not he'd heard correctly.

"Titans, GO!" Robin yelled, and the Titans began the fight as the robots sprang into action. Robin went straight for Slade, but Percy watched helplessly as her friends fought for them: the Titans were winning, but they were vastly outnumbered.

_Please don't let them get hurt because of us,_ Percy prayed, struggling to keep her eyes open.

_I can't let them down again,_ Robin thought to himself, fighting valiantly against Slade. _I've got to get them out! _

With a powerful side swing of his bo-staff, Robin managed to clip the madman's jaw and momentarily throw him off balance; during the distraction, the Titan Leader darted past and began to run toward the twins. However, when Slade pulled out his remote and chuckled, Raven saw what the criminal was doing and went rigid with fright: she instantly let out a cry.

"No! Robin, stop!" the Empath shouted, but it was too late: the Titan leader was five feet away from Persephone and Patrokalos when Slade pressed the button, but this time he held it down and didn't let go. The shock emanating from the tables was so great that Robin was blasted backward and all of Slade's robots shorted out. Patty and Percy let out hysterical screams and arched their backs in unholy pain; the twins screamed so loudly that it shattered the glass windows of the observatory and forced everyone to cover their ears. The restraining straps cut into Percy's body at the same moment they let go of Patty.

The boy fell to the floor in an unconscious heap; the girl was left to endure the agony.

The pain was so intense for Persephone that her body began to contort on itself, and her only comprehensive thought was that she wanted it to end. The Titans stood frozen in horror as she let out another bloodcurdling screech: then her crystal blue eyes began to glow with a blinding light that shot out of her irises, and the tie holding back her short blonde hair snapped from the energy. Silken tresses flared out around her shoulders and rapidly began to grow as her form emitted a white aura; the straps over her mouth, neck, shoulders, knees, and ankles snapped as a circlet of fire exploded in front of her chest, and a key made of flames pierced it through the center. Only a second later, the key disappeared and whips made of multicolored white light exploded out of her body.

Then, with the sound of disembodied church bells filling the air, the girl's wings appeared in a spray of lightning.

The remote in Slade's hand abruptly exploded into electrical ice shards as her energy spiked, and because of that, he fled the crime scene. However, The pain stopped so suddenly that Persephone's breath hitched and she passed out, fire dissipating in an instant: the blonde girl was now hanging limply by the one strap she hadn't broken, wings slowly dissolving into bright blue sparkles that glittered with a mesmerizing light.

Beast Boy immediately leapt up and sprinted over to where she was pinned, and with shaking fingers he hastily released her bond and caught her before she could fall to the floor. However, that's when he saw something dark dripping from her fingers and froze: she was bleeding, and she was bleeding a lot judging by how strong the metallic scent was. Beast Boy looked like he was going to collapse, so Cyborg took over the job and carried Percy back to the Tower while Starfire cradled Patty's battered form in her strong arms. When the blonde girl's broken arms were wrapped up and the twins were safe in the infirmary, everyone went to bed with reserved expressions.

This had been an exhausting and frightening day for all of them.

**TXXXXXT**

Robin stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep as the thoughts surged through his brain. If he had listened to Raven when she'd screamed for him to stop, the twins wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly. Unintentionally, he felt like he was always hurting the people who were closest to him. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door and sat up as it opened.

Starfire.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her worriedly when she walked in and sat down next to him.

"No... there is nothing wrong with me, but I sense that everything is not alright with you," she said quietly.

"Starfire," he murmured, staring at the floor. "Slade targets everyone I care about, but then I go crazy and make it worse."

"Robin, please do not blame yourself," Starfire whispered; he felt her hand on his shoulder and looked up to find that she had tears in her soft green eyes. "I hate to see you feeling the sadness like this… you know that it is not your fault, yes?"

"But—" he tried to protest, only to be cut off by the alien princess.

"Slade has nearly killed you on many occasions, Robin," she stated. "This is nobody's fault but his."

"I should have listened to Raven," Robin muttered, clenching his fists. "she shouted a warning when I tried to save the twins, but I didn't stop! God, they've only been on our team for a month and they were almost killed because of us!"

"No, you did not listen to her; and I would not have listened to her in the same position," Starfire said soothingly, moving a little closer to him and squeezing his shoulder. "You were trying to save the twins because you care for them, and any of us would have done the same thing if we were faced with that chance. They are a part of our family, now, Robin: they need us."

"But—" Robin started to protest again, but this time he was cut off by her fingers on his lips.

"Hush," she whispered, and her voice sent shivers down his spine. "It hurts for me to watch you hate yourself."

"Okay, Star," Robin sighed, rubbing his eyes again. He could tell that the alien girl was tired because her breathing slowed and she became more comfortable against him, head on his shoulder and her hand in his. Robin ran his fingers through her long auburn hair and sighed as she fell asleep. He put his arms around the Tamaranian girl and fell asleep as well.


	7. Chapter 6: Matchmaking

**Chapter Six: Matchmaking**

"Patrokalos!" Persephone wailed, bolting upright as terror lanced through her heart. However, agony seared through her body like a wave of fire and she abruptly fell back to her pillow with a high-pitched squeak. Once the throbbing in her body died away, she discovered that she was lying in a bed with several tubes sticking out of her arms and legs. Percy tried to move her fingers to see whether or not they were okay, but pain spiked through her elbows and she grimaced. The small girl nearly had an aneurism when the doors whooshed open, and she involuntarily sat up again; unfortunately, the pain hit her body a second time in a row and she was forced to lie down. Her fears were groundless, however, because Raven walked into the room with a steaming mug in her hands.

Silently taking a seat, she handed the cup to the blonde and smiled in amusement.

"Green tea," Raven pointed out with a slightly proud expression.

"Thanks," Percy whispered, struggling to lift her arms and take a drink; her elbows wouldn't allow her to, though, so she sang a few musical notes and sent a gentle wave of air out to Raven's hand, lifting the cup with her powers. Before she could take a sip of her tea, Percy caught sight of her reflection in the mug and froze, almost dropping it by accident: her face was utterly swollen, both of her blue eyes were blackened, her head was stitched up, and her hair was now so long that it hung down past her thighs. All in all, she looked like she'd just been in a terrible accident. "W-what the hell happened to me?!"

"You and your brother were attacked," Raven cautiously explained. "Patrokalos is fine, but he's sleeping right now."

"I'll take your word for it," Percy mumbled, shaking her head as a sense of exhausted relaxation wash over her; she looked at her bandaged arms and winced, then tried to change the subject by asking, "Raven, where are all the other Titans?"

"Beast Boy and Cyborg are examining the crime scene," Raven murmured gently.

"Robin isn't with them?" Persephone asked with an expression of surprise.

"No, he and Star are still sleeping," Raven stated, smirking at the blonde with half-lidded eyes. "Come on, I'll show you."

"How am I supposed to get there?" Persephone asked, frowning in confusion until Raven used her powers to levitate a wheelchair over to the bedside. Once she was sitting safely on the chair, Raven pushed her out of the room and down the hall before quietly opening Robin's door. Percy looked in and saw Starfire sitting in Robin's arms against the wall on his bed. Both of them were sleeping so peacefully that Percy beamed like a child on Christmas and closed the door.

"So, are they, like… together now?" Persephone asked breathlessly, blue eyes shining.

"Nope," Raven snickered, rolling her eyes.

"What?!" Persephone squeaked, shocked at the statement. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Nope," Raven repeated, rolling her violet eyes. "There were no strong emotions last night… except for your night terrors and Robin beating himself up over Slade being the Evil One, as usual. Quite honestly, it's nothing we haven't seen before."

"She fell asleep in his arms, and they still haven't confessed?!" Persephone asked, looking totally stupefied.

"Foolish, I know," Raven consented; then she blinked and hastily pulled Percy's chair off to the side. "Be quiet…"

Starfire had stirred in her sleep and woke Robin up, but he blushed violently when he realized he had held her close all night long. Robin took a deep breath, willing his heart to stop pounding for fear of waking her up, but he had to move. He began easing away from her, but she woke up just a little and clung to him… then she slowly opened her eyes and smiled.

"Good morning, Robin," she sighed.

"Morning, Starfire," he replied, pulling away and stretching slightly. "I have to get up and review the reports about Slade."

"Slade?" Starfire whispered; to his surprise, the girl's face fell and she pushed him away before standing up. "That's the first thing you think about when you wake up next to me? I was so stupid to think that you actually—that you could ever—"

"No, Star," Robin exclaimed, shocked by her sudden reaction. "I didn't mean—"

"Didn't mean to fall asleep with me in your arms?" Starfire shouted. "Didn't mean to _lead_ me _on_ like this for so long?!"

"Lead you on?" Robin spluttered, eyes widening behind his mask. "Starfire no! I haven't been—"

"Slade drives you crazy and he's hurt you very badly, but you act as if I feel no pain when I hear you screaming in your sleep at night! You tell me I don't understand, but you won't let me get close enough to try! I have been trying so hard to show you I care!" Starfire shouted at him, glaring as tears began spilling from her lime green eyes. "I have tried so hard the last few years, and sometimes we get so close that I can't stand it when you turn away from me! When it comes to Slade, I'm just another weak little girl who needs saving! I do not need to be saved, Robin! I NEED YOU!"

"Starfire, don't do this…" Robin croaked.

"No!" Starfire squealed, covering her ears to block out his words. "When I woke up and saw that you were still lying here, I thought you actually felt the love for me! Now I know that all you really care for is Slade! I am finished Robin! I am done trying to understand! You do not seem to care that you're hurting me right now, nor that you have been from the start! No!"

"S-Starfire…" Robin whispered, standing in the middle of his room and looking completely thunderstruck when she leapt into the air and tearfully flew out into the hall; the redhead didn't even see Persephone and Raven standing outside the door when she locked herself inside her bedroom. Persephone, however, had frozen solid and her pale blue eyes had become blank with horror; after a moment she turned to look at Raven, who appeared to be just as surprised by the alien's heated outburst.

"I'll talk to Robin," Percy said quietly, "but try to get Starfire up to the roof in about a half hour or so, okay?"

"All right?" the empath quipped; when Raven shrugged and walked over to Starfire's door, Persephone blinked her vibrant blue eyes and let out a deep sigh of dismay. Then, with a burst of newfound determination, the angelic blonde tossed her new thigh-length hair over her shoulders and sang a little melody that pushed the wheelchair into the Boy Wonder's bedroom. Robin glanced up in surprise when she entered, but he frowned in concern when she merely stared at him.

"Robin, we need to talk," Percy stated simply, "and before you say anything about my condition, I'm fine, so come on."

Ten minutes later, Robin and Percy were sitting on the roof, facing each other: however. when the blonde had told him to recount what had happened since she and her brother had passed out at the Needle, she was utterly stunned by everything he'd told her. Quite honestly, the girl was beginning to wonder how Robin could be so intelligent when it came to stopping bad guys before they unleashed their 'dastardly plots', yet so stupid when it came to the love blooming right in front of his eyes.

"You seriously don't understand why she's angry?" Persephone asked incredulously, staring at him as though he were an alien from Mars when he shook his head. "Ugh… why are boys so dumb when it comes to this kind of thing? I swear, Patty is a total moron when it comes to romance, and that's the one trait we don't have in common! Starfire is hurting inside, Robin!"

"Hurting?" Robin asked, looking genuinely surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Okay, tell me something: how do you feel whenever she gets close to you?" Persephone asked delicately, leaning back in her wheelchair and staring at him with gentle eyes: she was aware that not all guys understood this sort of thing. "You can tell me the total truth about this, Robin, and I promise that I'll keep it a secret… but it's kind of an important topic, you know?"

"I-I love being close to her," the black-haired boy stuttered; it was hard for Percy to believe that not even a month ago, this same blushing boy had been holding a metal staff against her throat, "but… the feeling goes away very, very quickly, because no matter how close to me she is, we can never be together, and it… well, it really… hurts. My chest feels constricted inside."

It was around that point Robin realized just what, exactly, Percy had meant by saying that Starfire was in pain.

"Why not?" Persephone asked simply, blinking once.

"Why not… what?" Robin asked, confused.

"Why can't you be together?" the blonde girl enunciated, rolling her large blue eyes.

"B-because," Robin stammered, obviously flustered by her interrogating, "I don't want to ruin our—"

Persephone cut him off by singing a set of ultra sharp notes: a spray of shimmering water instantly exploded into reality as the moisture around her condensed, obeying the mere sound of her voice. The crystalline liquid swirled into long, vine-like ropes that spun around the startled Boy Wonder: the glistening tendrils then encased his elastic uniform like a liquid bond, and when he glanced up in alarm, she cocked an angry eyebrow sang a few more notes that caused the water to freeze. Then used her control over the ice to slam the Boy Blunder's body against the heating duct right behind him. Robin's breath was knocked out of his lungs, but he was more startled by the fury in Percy's bright blue eyes than the fact that she had just assaulted him.

"Don't you dare even try to tell me you don't want to ruin your friendship, Robin! I'll hit you again if you do!" the blonde girl hissed, and for a moment she looked so much like Terra that he nearly lost his breath a second time. When the boy began to squirm under the brunt of her powers, she shook him a bit with her mind until he stopped moving around. "Your friendship is already being ruined because of how clueless you are! She's right; you care too much about Slade, and this is coming from the girl who's siblings he murdered! I mean, the guy attacked my brother, nearly killed me, and murdered my only family!"

"But I love her!" Robin cried before he could stop himself; his eyes widened behind his mask and he blushed.

"Okay, there you have it," Percy said quietly, smiling as she released him. "Don't tell me, though; you need to tell her."

"Persephone," Robin tried to protest, "it's not that easy to just—"

"Actually, yes, it is: you're just too scared to try because you don't want her to reject you," Persephone stated flatly, eyes going half-lidded in amusement when he gawped. "Newsflash, lover-bird! She won't reject you! I mean, seriously, the girl just freaking yelled at you for not caring about her, so how can you think that she isn't totally head over heels for your sorry ass?"

"Well," Robin muttered unhappily, "when you put it like that…"

"Oh, shut up and be a man!" Percy sighed, grinning a bit before she sang a few more notes and shattered the ice. "Okay?"

"I'd say you're crazy," Robin stated blankly, "but everything you've said so far has made too much sense."

"That's because it's reality, you doofus. Anyway, good luck… you won't need it," Persephone said lightly, humming a few musical notes that sent her wheelchair rolling safely down the rooftop stairs. Robin sat in silence for several minutes after the blonde girl was gone: in all honesty, Persephone looked almost completely identical to Terra since her hair had grown out and now hung down to her thighs… but her gentle mannerisms and naive personality were just so different from the tomboyish earth-hero that he continuously found himself being thrown off-guard. Every now and then, he would forget that Percy wasn't Terra and would subconsciously feel suspicious of the blonde's intentions toward his team, which wasn't fair to her at all.

Just as he stood up with these thoughts in mind, Starfire walked out onto the roof.

"Starfire!" he cried, voice coming out as nothing more than a squeak; he cleared his throat when she looked at him coldly.

"Yes?" the alien princess inquired, but she looked surprised when he strode up to her and took both of her hands in his.

"Starfire, you were right: I care about Slade too much, but that doesn't mean I can't change," Robin stammered; the boy sounded so sincere that Starfire believed him, but she didn't say a word. "I'm sorry! I let him rule my life even though I'm not under his control. You've tried to get close to me and I've pushed you away, but I don't want to be a stranger to you anymore."

"R-Ro…" Starfire's voice trailed off and she felt weak when he pulled her in to a hug; the redhead pulled away from him just enough to look up at his face. Then she smiled, drew in close, stopped a second just to feel his breath against her skin, and pressed her lips to his. He held her as she sighed into his mouth, clinging to his neck and running her fingers in his hair.

Meanwhile, Percy met Raven at the bottom of the stairs, where she let her head thump back against the wheelchair.

"Remind me not to use my powers on anyone for a while," the blonde girl grumbled tiredly.

"Uh," Raven droned blankly, staring at her, "you mean you used your powers on Robin?"

"Well, yeah," the blonde girl admitted, "and I, uh, also kind of slammed him into a heating duct?"

"If it were anyone but you, Percy, that explanation wouldn't be tickling me as much as it's doing right now," Raven stated as her eye twitched, shoulders quaking violently as she fought back an enormous snicker; however, the pale empath suddenly stopped moving and glanced up with extremely wide eyes as a surge of powerful emotions blasted down from the rooftop.

"Well?" Persephone asked, triumphantly tossing her newly-long hair. "Is there a reason you look all cock-eyed?"

"I don't know what you told Robin, but it worked!" the empath croaked, blinking at her in total shock: if this tiny blonde girl had managed to get Robin and Starfire to finally confess their love, she had some serious potential for the matchmaking business.

"Good," the blonde girl stated in satisfaction. "Now, can we go visit my brother, please? Because I'm fairly certain that the idiotic lug's lying awake and probably beating himself up for letting… um, Dr. Vladmir take over his body again. He's most likely crying right now."

"He's a crybaby?" Raven asked, blinking down at the girl in amazement. "Never would have guessed."

"When you've been abused, you learn to hide emotions until you're alone enough to let them out," Percy stated simply, looking away as a haunted look came into her electric blue eyes. "You can wear any type of mask you want to cover up how you're truly feeling inside, but that's all your face really becomes: a mask. The emotions beneath it will never disappear, no matter how much you want them to."

"You're surprisingly... astute when it comes to the emotions of other people," Raven noted, grabbing the handles on the girl's wheelchair and pushing her towards her brother's room. "I never would have figured that you'd be thinking about this kind of thing if I couldn't feel your particular emotions. You have a fairly well-constructed mask yourself, Persephone."

That statement made the blonde girl blink in disbelief.

"Uh, so do you, Raven," Percy murmured, twisting around and glancing up at her pale friend when she froze. "You try your hardest to suppress your emotions, and… well, Beast Boy told me that your soul was shattered into a few fragments or something, but in the end, all of your feelings are being completely hidden from your expression. You know, I've discovered that not showing any at all emotion is actually harder to do than letting loose and smiling once in a while from everything you taught me. It really helps with my self-control to express how I'm feeling once in a while, but I only do it for those who are closest to me… so maybe, _just maybe,_ if you actually let loose and just _grin_ when you find something to be funny, controlling your powers would be a bit easier to manage."

"I'm dead set in my ways and habits," Raven said slowly, looking a bit pensive as she started pushing the wheelchair down the hall once again, "but I can't deny that your claim actually has a bit of merit to it. It's an interesting idea, and surprisingly, I believe it's worthy enough of my time to look into. I'll take what you said into consideration, but don't expect any results."

"Hey, it's the thought that counts," Percy sighed, leaning back and grinning up at the empath in a goofy manner.

"I'm going to heal you when you're done visiting with your brother," Raven muttered, frowning as she touched the bruises on the pale girl's face. "I don't like the way you look with all of those injuries… for some odd reason, it really bothers me."

"Yay, no more pain!" Percy giggled, squeezing her eyes shut as an adorably cheesy grin lit up her face.


	8. Chapter 7: First Halloween

**Chapter Seven: First Halloween**

It had been more than two weeks since Persephone's full-blown recovery, but ever since the attack she had been trying to convince Patrokalos that it hadn't been his fault: when she finally got the message across that still loved him with everything she had and would always be there no matter what, he slowly started to forgive himself. By the time Halloween was just around the corner, Patty was back to his normal self and was animatedly interacting with everyone on the team.

However, Robin and Starfire hadn't come out about their relationship: they were aware that Raven and Percy knew and thus had no problem holding hands or flirting when the two were around, but if Beast Boy, Patty, or Cyborg were within seeing distance, their relationship was kept on the down-low. Percy and Raven respected it completely: the girls already knew that they'd only meet ridicule and tabloids by telling BB, Patty, and Cy about their new and official love life. Slade hadn't reappeared yet—thankfully, since both twins were still severely traumatized by his latest actions—crime was at an all time low, and the Tower was alive and thriving. Starfire was spending more time in Robin's room than ever before, and was thoroughly enjoying it.

Percy, Patty, and Raven were meditating more often simply to have more chances to talk.

The twins were gaining mastery over their elemental powers _without_ using their voices, but they were both having some problems with accidentally blowing things up during those particular training sessions. Still, overall, things were going extremely well at Titans Tower. The biggest news came on October 18th in the form of an invitation to a Halloween dance: the Titans were all for it once Robin had explained the grim concept of why people celebrated Halloween to Starfire.

They went costume shopping later that week: Starfire got very excited over a princess costume, Beast Boy made a very original green Superman, Raven didn't need to buy much to pull off an excellent vampire, Robin became Robin Hood, Cyborg used his holograph rings to become the Green Lanter-having bet Beast Boy that he'd be a way better superhero and ignoring Raven when she pointed out that they already _were_ superheroes-Persephone decided to be Little Red Riding Hood, and Patrokalos chose to be her counterpart: the Big, Bad, and utterly sexy wolf… as many girls stated later on.

After they had paid for their costumes, Beast Boy walked up asked her if all fairy tale girls were so sexy

Percy ended up throwing him into the face-paint stand and the store manager kicked them out.

Surprisingly enough, the dance was at a high school: the Titans were glad that people didn't recognize them so easily, especially since word had gotten out that they were coming. Oddly enough, there were also many people dressed up as the Titans themselves, but Percy and Patrokalos got very excited when they saw several people dressed up like the two of them.

They'd never had fans before, so seeing a bunch of kids trying to look like them was just so… well, cool.

In the first half hour of the dance, Starfire was constantly being hit on until Robin pushed one of the more persistent boys into a jack-o-lantern. The boy-wonder had Starfire all to himself after that little episode, but unfortunately, Starfire "thanked" the boy by draping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately… right in front of Beast Boy, Patty, and Cyborg.

Word was out among the Titans, but BB, Pat, and Cy had the sense not to tell the whole high school.

However, Persephone was surprised by the fact that several boys tried talking to her as well: her brother was thoroughly embarrassed and kept scratching his nose with gentle fingers and a red face as a bunch of girls crowded around him, trying to start up a conversation, but her amusement changed to annoyance when one boy… ironically enough, the one who had been shoved into a pumpkin, walked right up to her and put his arms around her shoulders. Percy sang a few beautiful notes, and with a satisfying 'crack' made from a water-whip, he was sent flying through a life-sized cardboard cutout of the monster from Wicked Scary: the Sequel.

Needless to say, the poor boy stayed clear of all girls for the rest of the night… go figure.

By that time, most of the kids at the dance had figured out who Percy and Patty were, at the very least: after displaying her inhuman abilities without thinking about the consequences, it was pretty obvious that everyone would figure out who she and her twin brother were. After all, Patty had dressed up as the big bad wolf: Little Red was just waiting to be eaten by him.

Just as people began to mob them for a few autographs, six communicators began to beep.

Robin instantly pulled away from Starfire's lips and flipped open his communicator, looking annoyed by the beeping that had just interrupted them. The entire gym went silent and listened as all seven Titans pulled out their communicators: Robin looked up to see that everyone was watching them and rolled his eyes, though nobody saw since he was wearing his mask.

"Titans, trouble!" he shouted, more to entertain the crowd than anything else. Everyone cheered as those who could fly took off, they cheered even louder when Robin and Cyborg ran out the door, and they cheered the loudest when the newest Titans clasped hands and sang a few harmonious notes before blasting off and flipping acrobatically out the nearest window.

"Can't we have… just one night… to ourselves?" Percy whined loudly in between the landings on the rooftops, squeezing her brother's large hand when he huffed a bit in irritation; with identical pouts, the twins bounced over to the Jump City dam.

"Apparently… crime doesn't care… about teenage frat-parties," Patty panted irritably; when they all arrived at the site, the Titans saw that the dam was dark and eerily quiet except for the sound of water rushing through.

"Uh, so what's the deal?" Cyborg asked, looking straight at Robin.

"Somebody's planted some explosives made with components from an old chromium core," the Titan leader explained, shaking his head with a wary expression on his face. "As you all know, they're very unstable so we have to find them—"

"Ah… AH-CHOOOOO!"

Robin was cut off by Starfire's sneezing: the twins were, to put it very, very lightly, totally shocked by it. Starfire's allergies were far more destructive than either one of them could have imagined, and even though the two of them had been warned to avoid her sneezes several months ago, nothing could have prepared the blondes for the explosive force of it.

"I feel rather…" Percy murmured, trailing off and letting out a squeaky sneeze of her own that caused a puff of soot to fly away.

"Singed," Patrokalos finished, blue eyes going wide with surprise when he saw that he was now completely black.

"Yeah, next time you're gonna sneeze, please warn us!" Beast Boy howled in dismay.

"I apologize," Starfire sniffed, rubbing her nose. "My allergies are most likely being triggered by the explosives."

"Scan for the explosives," Robin commanded, looking up at Cyborg.

"I hope we don't have to fight anyone tonight," Patty grumbled, tugging on his wolf tail. "My costume's riding up…"

"You should talk!" Beast Boy snorted, eyeing him in dismay. "I'm the one with my underwear on the outside!"

"Don't forget the tights," Raven drawled sarcastically.

"Yeah, and the t—hey!" Beast Boy squawked, turning on Raven, who shrugged even though she was smirking. Patty's cheeks instantly turned bright pink and he hastily averted his eyes, clutching at the front of his costume so quickly that Percy glanced up in surprise. She shared a glance with Raven and immediately understood that the empath had been aware of it.

"I've got a lock!" Cyborg exclaimed. "There are three, so I'll send their locations to your communicators."

"Beast Boy and Cyborg take the first one," Robin instantly rapped out, taking charge like always. "Raven, Patty, and Percy can take the second, and Star… well, you and I are going for the third. All right, Titans, GO!"

"Gee, what a surprise," Cyborg laughed. "Starfire and Robin are together."

"Can it, tin can," Robin called good-naturedly as he and Starfire walked through the colossal entrance to the dam's massively-constructed inner workings. The confined space between the walls of concrete, and located above the generators and turbines, was nothing more than a complex network of catwalks. BB and Cy were on top, while Raven, Percy, and Patty were down below: Robin and Starfire were in the middle, all of them walking in different directions.

As the Boy Wonder walked next to the alien princess, he couldn't help but notice how much closer to him she was walking now in comparison to a few weeks ago. He smiled at her: she had never been inside a dam before and was looking around curiously. However, when Starfire suddenly gasped and gripped Robin's arm with a bone-crushing hold, he followed her finger when she pointed ahead: Slade was bent over an explosive device, but Robin's eyes narrowed. The maniacal villain seemed different somehow, but he waved it off and ran forward. When Slade saw him and ran, Starfire called the others on her communicator. The other five Titans had already successfully destroyed the explosives they had been sent to find when Starfire called them on the other line, sounding frantic. They caught up just as Robin tackled Slade, ripping off Slade's mask.

"Who are you?!" Robin shouted at the boy in his late teens, who was currently quailing under Robin's gaze.

"Uh… Trick-or-Treat?" the boy said.

"You impersonated our arch-nemesis to blow up a dam?!" Robin roared, punching the boy in the face. "Do you not even realize what the man you've dressed up as has done to all of us?! That man murdered the family of our newest members!"

"Robin, stop!" Cyborg shouted when his leader began beating the teenager up; he showed no signs of stopping. Percy and Patty had been bouncing toward the boy wonder when they heard his statement and tumbled to the catwalk in a painful heap, both of their blue eyes wide with shock and mortification. Still, they tried to regain their sense of dignity and slowly helped each other up despite the obvious pain in their expressions: they had lost their sisters so recently that the memory itself was like a horrifying nightmare that had somehow taken on a tangible form. Starfire ran forward and crouched next to Robin when the thrashed teenage boy began to cry, and she grabbed his arm with both of hers, holding on tightly.

"Robin, please," she cried, shaking him, "don't do th—"

She stopped when Robin turned on her and wrenched his arm from her grasp, staring at her fiercely. The girl instantly backed away, tan face turning a sickly shade of white: both of them remembered the last time he had been this angry.

_"You are hurting me…"_  
_"Slade ran right by you. How could you let him get away?!"_  
_"But, Robin, there was no one there!"_

Starfire would never forget that night: for the first time in her life, she had been afraid of Robin; afraid that he would hurt her more than he already had. She snapped back to the present and saw Robin staring at her, no longer angry.

He looked… lost.

"Starfire…" he whispered, sounding utterly scared; she had never heard fear in Robin's voice, so she didn't know how to react to the sound of it. "I'm so sorry… I can't believe I did it again. You're afraid of me right now."

"No, Robin!" Starfire hastily lied. "I am not afraid of you!"

"You don't have to lie to cover up for me, Starfire," the Titan Leader muttered. "I hurt you, and even now… I still can't forgive myself for doing it. I hurt your arm, I made you cry, and now I'm doing it all over again. Just, please, believe me when I say that I love you. I promised I'd always protect you, but I didn't protect you from myself."

The Titans watched in dismayed silence: Starfire and Robin had never told anyone that he had hurt her, but even though they didn't really understand what he was talking about, they didn't ask for any details.

"I forgive you Robin. I love you too much to care about what has happened in the past," Starfire whispered, "but please, don't be angry with me when you are angry with Slade. I am not the one that anger should be directed at, yes?"

"I could never be angry with you," Robin muttered, hugging her with a sad expression. Starfire felt her body turn weak like rubber when he pulled her into his arms, just like always. She grabbed his shoulders for support and let her lips touch his, vibrant green eyes closed rapturously. When he drew her in the rest of the way, kissing her gently, Cyborg dragged the Slade look-a-like out of the dam and grabbed the twins by their collars since they'd looked lost after the mentioning of their murdered siblings.

"We'll leave them alone for a while," he mumbled


	9. Chapter 8: Pieces of a Puzzle

**Chapter Eight: Pieces of a Puzzle**

Even though Robin and Starfire were finally out of the closet, they still acted as normal as they could whenever the others were around, although they were usually pretty close to each other. Persephone still thought it was utterly adorable, but now she somewhat envied them, since… well, quite honestly, she had been developing a profound attraction to a certain green-skinned changeling. It had all started about a week after the Halloween bash-up: Beast Boy had noticed that Percy had fallen into a deep state of depression after Robin's outburst about her late siblings, and he had been doing his best to cheer her up.

Mind you, that wasn't so out of the ordinary since he was always being goofy… but something—she didn't know what, exactly—had changed when he'd looked her straight in the eyes and told her to cheer up. He'd said that if she stayed sad, it would make him feel just as crappy… and just like that, her stomach and heart had done a serious backflip. It was in that very moment that Persephone had realized just how handsome his eyes were: glittering emerald green with a wild cat-slit pupil.

Ever since then, the attraction had only grown in strength: currently, she was head over heels and totally helpless.

Patrokalos had noticed his twin's spontaneously erratic behavior whenever Beast Boy happily waltzed into a room, but even though he didn't fully understand what was wrong, he still found it insanely funny whenever she got flustered around the green-skinned elf. Other than that, the twins had started training and had begun meditating way more often than they used to: both of them were worried about Slade trying to attack them again, so they were training in order to get stronger. Over the course of the winter, the twins discovered two new powers: mild control over light, and powerful control over the earth.

The twins' control over light was already nearing its mastery: in fact, they could separately project a one-person force field and hurl balls of light that burned even hotter than the latest laser cannons that Cyborg had been developing. On top of that, their control over the light around them also extended into shadow: because of this, they'd discovered that they could pass through solid objects if they were touching each other, yet control the shadows like swirling black mist on an individual level.

However, there was something that had been bothering both twins for a while now… particularly Persephone, who had rapidly developed such strong feelings for Beast Boy: from what they had been told, whenever they were controlling the earth, their powers strongly resembled Terra's. They could shift rock on a smaller scale than Terra, but could also control plants.

The best use for the latter, as the twins had learned, was to wrap villains in the vines instead of lashing out with them. Of course, Percy and Patty knew that there was another use their powers could be put to: the blondes didn't tell the other Titans because it could have changed their lives forever. If they used this power, there would be no turning back… but unfortunately, the other Titans had gotten to know both blondes too well: they'd figured out that the twins were worried about something.

There was something the twins were keeping to themselves, so they started to keep a closer eye on them.

On a particularly rainy day, when all of the Titans were lazing around, Persephone and Patrokalos both stood up at the same time and said, simultaneously, that they were going for a walk together before hastily leaving the tower. The Titans, already suspicious of their strange actions, followed them… but they were surprised by where the twins were leading them.

They were walking to Terra's resting place.

The Titans stopped a good deal away and watched as the two blondes stopped in front of the statue, looking up at it with thoughtful and worried expressions on their faces. Quite frankly, when the two of them hugged each other and looked ready to cry from a type of helplessness that their teammates didn't really understand, the group finally came out of hiding.

"So, what's the big secret?" Robin called loudly as they came up behind the twins. Both blondes flinched and cowered in each other's arms, shivering violently as an instinctive reaction took hold; however, after a moment, Patty and Percy managed to shake off the irrational fear of being hit and stood back up before staring down at the ground. Patrokalos looked down at his sister, urging her with his eyes to speak up since it had been her idea in the first place whether to bring Terra back or not.

"Patty and I can bring her back," Percy whispered helplessly, averting her eyes when the Titans froze. "I-I… I would never even try without your permission, of course, but… I'm positive that my brother and I could rescue her from her stone prison."

"You can…?" Beast Boy whispered, eyes blanking out with so much hope that her heart hurt.

"Yes," Persephone mumbled weakly, not sounding at all confident: she and her brother were still hiding the fact that they would be taking a great risk if they attempted to bring Terra back, and it was a risk that could end up being fatal… for them.

"That would be wonderful!" Starfire exclaimed, though she didn't sound as though she was completely sure; none of the Titans were sure, honestly… they had been searching for a way to save her, but they hadn't really taken time to talk about it.

"Bring… Terra back?" Raven repeated, sounding completely doubtful and thoroughly unhappy.

"We'll need time to talk about this," Robin said, sounding uncomfortable.

"Let's go back to the Tower," Cyborg suggested.

Everyone but Persephone agreed: even her brother had voted to go with the group.

"You guys go ahead," the girl laughed, trying to sound cheerful despite the fact that her heart was cracking. "I don't really think I should join in on this particular conversation… but Patty will go, and he'll give me all the juicy details later on, okay?"

Even though she was smiling at them, they could all tell that she was thoroughly depressed. However, whenever Percy felt alone, she would sing her wings back into existence and fly. Flying angels were in short supply, so the girl was taking full advantage of her newest gift: she left the cavern in which Terra had been entombed, sang a few notes that caused her wings to erupt in a spray of blue fire, and took off into the sky. She flew high above the tops of the buildings and spread her arms, shoulder-length hair flying backwards as she flapped her absolutely gorgeous feathered wings.

They were twelve feet from tip to tip, and the feathers were an iridescent reddish gold, like that of a phoenix.

She sailed through the clouds like a bird, the icy chill and thin air not affecting her in the least.

As she soared up into the sky and burst through the low blanket of clouds, she felt like she could breathe again, and it was a feeling that cleared her mind enough for her to relax. Life was good so high in the air: there was no pain above the clouds. and there were no villains in this fantastic wasteland where the sun rose later and the sun set earlier. Percy tilted and dove into the massive plumes of water vapor: it was freezing cold and water condensed immediately on her skin. Her blonde hair was thick with crystals of ice, and she was blinded by the white pressing in on all sides.

Yet it was oddly comforting, being alone in a cloud.

She burst back up into the fresh air, droplets of water showering from her body like a spray of liquid diamonds that reflected the light of the setting sun as it sank beneath the horizon of white clouds. She stopped and hovered there in the sky, flapping her wings to stay aloft. She felt like she had become trapped in time, staring at this endless ocean of white.

It never changed here. Time stood still. It was a new level of silence.

When the stars began to appear above, Percy didn't need to look up to see them because the sky had wrapped around her like a dome of glittering lights. She sighed heavily: even the part of her which enjoyed being alone had begin to feel lonely, so the girl dropped back down below the clouds and landed back on the island before letting her wings dissolve. She walked back into Terra's cavern to find the others there waiting for her. She looked at them apprehensively: they all looked serious.

"Bring her back, Percy," Beast Boy said.

Something in the girl's heart cracked so badly that she had to fight back tears: Raven blinked and straightened up, looking right at the girl's face with wide eyes even as she woodenly nodded and walked forward to stand next to her brother. Glancing up at the face of her twin, the girl forced a smile that didn't touch her eyes before they clasped hands and stared at the statue.

Slowly lifting their free hands, they turned on their headphone equipment and a crackling echoed out of it.

Slowly opening their mouths, the twins tilted their heads back and began to sing as gentle, bell-like music started flowing through their amplification systems. They slowly closed their eyes as the soft, beautiful harmony echoed out into the cavern.

_"Father, hear my prayers… let my power shine…_  
_Make the clock reverse… bring back what once was mine._  
_Heal what has been hurt… change the fate's design._  
_Save what has been lost… bring back what once was mine…"_

Persephone opened her eyes and looked up at the Stone Maiden as her brother tensed and abruptly lowered his head. With a gentle voice, she slowly recited the last of the healing prayer: the healing had been on a Disney movie once, but the legend of the song hadn't just been a coincidence. The entire theme of it had been based on a gift from God, and this prayer was the source of that legend: it was a dangerous thing to use, and not something to be taken lightly.

_"What once… was mine."_

Without warning, a sparkling cloud of golden light exploded into the air and surrounded both twins: Starfire gasped and Robin jumped back as the bodies of both twins started to glow with multicolored radiance, pale blonde hair flying towards the ceiling as a roaring gale exploded around their prone forms. Their backs arched simultaneously and they let out pained gasps as the breath was stolen from their lungs: the golden light swirled into the multicolored vortex that had encircled both twins.

The Titans watched with wide eyes as the light swirled away from them and extended to engulf the statue as well.

With a crack of thunder that shook the entire cavern, the light roared around the Stone Maiden and filled the entire area with a light so bright that everyone but the twins were forced to cover their eyes. The Titans watched in utter amazement as the statue slowly came back to life, pieces of the rock breaking away into splinters as the light roared around it; then there was another flash of light that blinded them all: when they could see again, they looked up just in time to see both twins collapse and slam lifelessly into the ground.

Robin, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg instantly bolted over to their collapsed comrades.

Beast Boy ran right past them.

"Terra!" he shouted in happy disbelief, hugging the blond girl as she weakly fell toward the ground.

"I'm… alive?' Terra whispered, staring up at him with dazed eyes; that's when he noticed something and stiffened.

Terra looked like an older version of Persephone.

**TXXXXXT**

For the second time in her life, Percy woke up in the infirmary, but this time it was different: she wasn't feeling pain in her arms and all over the place like before. The pain was coming from her mind, since her dark personality was fighting to break free and take control over her body once again. Frankly, it was tiring to constantly have to fight the God of Wrath in her head.

"Would you give it a rest already?" Persephone whined at her brain, rubbing her temples.

"Give what a rest?" an oddly familiar voice asked, sounding mystified; Persephone immediately bolted upright, but later she admittedly felt amazed that she could have made the same mistake twice, especially after it had hurt her just seconds prior.

"Ow!" Percy squealed, flopping back down with an expression that said she wanted to cry.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" the voice exclaimed, sounding a little more familiar; when Percy slowly turned her head to look at the speaker, she saw a blonde girl sitting right next to her bed. At first glance, the small girl noticed that she had blue goggles draped around her neck and was wearing a black shirt with a yellow 'T' on it. The second thing Percy noticed was that she and this girl looked almost identical... aside from Percy's more fragile bone-structure, her extremely pale skin, and the shorter hair.

"Either you're Terra," Percy said groggily, touching her head, "or you're an odd robotic version of me that Cyborg made."

"I guess the others told you all about me, huh?" Terra murmured, averting her pale blue eyes with an ashamed expression.

"Yeah, they did," Percy replied shortly, trying desperately to keep the Angel of Wrath out of her consciousness.

"They said that you and your brother are the ones who brought me back," Terra stated, looking at her.

Percy nodded silently.

"Thank you so much!" Terra exclaimed, folding her hands together with a grateful expression.

"No problem," Persephone stated weakly.

"Everyone will be really glad you're awake, so I'll go tell them," Terra exclaimed, flashing the girl a grin that looked eerily like her own. She sounded like she was looking for an excuse to leave, but Percy didn't take it personally in the least.

"_O la vache_…" the blonde girl muttered.

"I didn't know you could speak French," Raven stated coldly, melting out of the wall and sweeping forward like a wraith.

"I don't," Percy croaked, smiling a bit in greeting. "All I know is '_o la vache_' and '_omelet du fromage_.'"

"'Oh the cow' and 'cheese omelet'?" Raven asked, cocking an eyebrow as she handed Percy a mug of green tea.

"Yeah," Percy said, gratefully taking a drink and feeling warmth rush through her, "I'm much better with Japanese."

"Really?" Raven asked, looking noticeably surprised.

"_Hai, Laven-chan,_" Persephone giggled, but her smile faded away as she thought about Beast Boy and Terra getting back together with each other. She was happy that he could be happy now, but she didn't understand why it hurt her so much. "So, my brother and I actually managed to bring her back from her petrified state…? I'm glad, since your family is back together now."

"You and Patrokalos should have told us that it would affect you like this," Raven said seriously.

"Like what?" Percy asked, pretending she didn't know.

"You've been asleep for nearly a month," Raven replied, humoring her.

"Wow… I thought I'd be out much longer than that," Persephone muttered, blinking in total amazement until she realized what she had just let slip; she instantly huddled down and peered at the frothing empath with meek blue eyes. "Um… oops?"

"You and Patty nearly died _four times,"_ Raven stated severely, glaring in a rage as a vein popped out in her forehead.

"We expected as much," Percy mumbled, averting her eyes. "We both knew exactly what sort of risk we were taking."

"Even so, you had every one of us worried out of our minds!" Raven snapped, shoulders tensing as a light bulb above her popped in a brilliant shower of glass and sparks. "However, the icing that took the entire cake was this: the moment Beast Boy realized that your heart had stopped beating because you'd revived Terra, he panicked so badly that he bolted right over to you instead of her! He was so bent out of shape that it actually made Terra jealous… which, I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed. On top of that, I accidentally broke that window eleven times in two weeks! That's a record! So, why'd you do it?"

"I've lived here for eight months now, and you guys are like family to Patrokalos and me," Persephone weakly explained, blue eyes slowly filling with tears that made Raven freeze, "but whenever Terra was mentioned or brought up, everything just seemed to change and I felt like an outsider again. I brought her back because I had to: I hated seeing my new family suffer!"

Raven didn't know what to say to that; when Persephone's lips trembled and she turned her face away, the empath's eyes widened and her breath hitched.

"Yet, now you're the one who's suffering," Raven stated blankly, eyes going even wider when the girl cringed. "Oh, dear God… you've fallen in love with Beast Boy, and that's why… when he asked you to… oh, dear Azarath, Percy! Why?! You know he's an oblivious idiot!"

"It's not my fault!" the blonde girl wailed, kicking her legs and writhing a bit as she threw a mini temper-tantrum. "It's not like I _asked_ myself to fall in love with Beast Boy, it just happened somehow! He just looked at me one day, right in the eyes like he always does with everyone, and it hit me in the gut like a ton of freaking _bricks!_ His eyes were just too wild, and handsome, and I-I—!"

She was silenced by Raven when the pale girl gave her an utterly rare hug: the blonde girl's big blue eyes snapped open wide and she blinked rapidly as she was pulled forward, staring off at nothing as the empath held her and slowly pulled away.

"Suffering is a type of pain that can't be understood by the person inflicting it," Raven stated solemnly, violet eyes sad as she took in the blonde's heart-wrenching appearance. "At least… not until it's too late to stop all the hurt from being given."

The other six Titans walked in at that moment, ending the conversation due to the fact that Percy's heart nearly cracked in half and almost reduced her to tears: Beast Boy and Terra were having a heated discussion as to whether or not she could be considered a zombie now that she was no longer petrified. Persephone was glad to see that Robin and Starfire were holding hands, and her brother was definitely glad to see that she was awake: apparently, he had woken up only a few minutes ago.

After the Titans had explained what she and her brother had been missing over the last month, mostly just reacquainting themselves with Terra, Robin noticed how tired Percy looked and the Titans left so she could sleep. Once the door was fully closed, Percy stopped smiling: she had been pretending to be happy the entire time they were visiting her in the infirmary.

She had known this would happen: she and her brother weren't Titans anymore.

They were the Other Titans.

It didn't take long for the Titans to realize that Percy and Patty's short time awake had been nothing but good luck. When the twins fell back to sleep that day, they both went back to the way they had been for the past month: Percy and Patty were stuck in the middle of a mental gateway that was somehow caught between death and life. All of the Titans but Raven were convinced it was some kind of physical ailment, but she alone knew that it was the minds of both twins causing this problem.

After the identical blondes had been asleep for another two weeks, Raven decided to go on the offensive: while the other Titans had a movie night to take their minds off of their worries over their youngest members, Raven slowly walked into the infirmary and sat down between the beds of both blondes. She looked at Persephone with thoughtful eyes before turning that gaze on her brother: the twins were breathing normally, and all of their vitals were fine, so at the moment it seemed as though the two of them were simply just sleeping. However, occasionally their heart rates would slow down dangerously or accelerate to the limit. Raven would use her powers to calm one of them down, and they would simultaneously return to normal.

This had happened numerous times, and she wanted the worry to end.

Raven held her hand over Patrokalos's forehead and closed her eyes.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…" she chanted quietly, opening her eyes as the shone brilliantly white. When Raven opened her eyes, she was no longer in the infirmary, but floating through a darkness so deep that no light could touch it. Then, out of nowhere, a hauntingly beautiful melody began to echo around her: Raven was utterly stunned to realize that the sound of the music itself were nothing but manifestations of the twins' hidden emotions.

She looked around with stunned eyes as voices began to float around her, but when the pale girl tentatively stretched out a hand to see if she could find out where the twins' soul-selves were hiding, what she got instead were roaring images full of life and sound. There were millions of them, and she realized too late that she was being swept into the twins' deepest memories.

_Percy and Patty were sitting on their big fluffy bed and reading a book, humming with each other in perfect harmony: they were very good singers for five-year-olds—and they loved making their mommy and daddy smile by being good. Lately, though, their parents were always mad at each other because of grown-up stuff, and even when the twins were being really good… well, they just never smiled anymore. The identical blondes lifted their heads when they heard the yelling coming from downstairs, and they knew for a fact that their mommy and daddy were fighting again when the crashes started up. Feeling sad and wanting to do something to make them happy, the little girl and boy neatly set their book down and padded downstairs so they could make their parents smile. _

_However, Percy nearly got hit in the face with a glass plate when she and her brother walked into the living room._

_"Mommy!" the girl squeaked, ducking out of the way as the glass shards went flying; the blonde-haired woman froze when she saw her five-year-old daughter hiding behind her twin with a frightened expression. Then her father yelled at her._

_"Look at what you almost did, Helen!" Henry shouted angrily, black hair swirling around his face. "Even immortals like us should know better than this! You nearly hit our daughter because of your anger! This is why you shouldn't become physically aggressive in an argument!"_

_"Well, it's your fault that all of this started to begin with, you lying cheater!" the woman shouted, lime green eyes full of ire as she threw another plate at him; he ducked and it shattered against the wall, pieces of glass flying all over the place._

_"Percy, Patty, please go back upstairs, sweethearts!" their father sighed, walking toward where the twins were cowering down. The little girl froze when she saw that her mother held another plate in her hands and was going to throw it at him. _

_"Mommy, Daddy, stop it! No more fighting!" Percy screamed, moving around him so she could shout at her mother to stop throwing things. However, the little girl was cut off when the plate shattered against her temple. The moment that plate hit her in the face, it was like something inside both of the twins clicked: something utterly terrible had been triggered._

_"Percy! Are you okay?!" her father cried, but the little girl didn't answer; she stared off into space as her eyes began to glow neon blue. The moment he touched her, blue flames broke out on his arm, and he let out a cry before using his own powers to extinguish them. Her mother screamed as more of the blue fire covered the walls, radiating from the blonde boy who had collapsed to his knees and was now clutching his head in pain: blinding flashes of light and deafening explosions followed as their blonde hair fanned out—blowing out the walls behind them and sending debris flying all over the place. _

_"Mommy! Daddy! Help me!" Patty cried weakly, detached voice echoing hollowly in his ringing ears as his twin sister slowly brought her hands up to her suddenly-aching head and began to cry. "My head hurts! It hurts! Please, make it stop!"_

_"Mommy, help me!" Percy wailed just as weakly, falling to her own knees next to her brother._

_"Kids, hold on! Henry, their powers! They've awakened too soon!" her mother screamed, but her voice was met with another explosion—followed by a shriek as the ceiling fell on top of her. "Henry, help! Help! I'm pinned by the ceiling!"_

_"Helena, hang on! Little ones, close your eyes and tell yourself it's all a bad dream until I come back!" their daddy cried, trying to make his way over to their mommy; the twins couldn't do it, though… they had absolutely no control over this. _

_"Daddy! Mommy! Help me!" Percy wailed, voice still echoing as an unbearable pressure built inside her head. Moments later, the pressure released itself and the entire house exploded in a spray of white lightning, leaving nothing but utter chaos and destruction behind. The wins were left lying beneath the rubble of her devastated home, pinned beneath a concrete slab until someone finally found her. She couldn't see anything except the bloody metal bars when they finally brought her out._

_Patrokalos was being cradled nearby: he was alive, but unconscious._

Raven gasped and let out a scream as she was sucked out of the first memory and sent spiraling deeper into the minds of both twins, hand stretched out as her soul-self was mercilessly thrown down into darker places.

_It began when a freezing pair of hands started shaking their burning bodies with a vengeance. For some reason, Patty and Percy both felt like they were burning up instead of freezing to death in the usual cold sweat after having the nightmares about their parents. Feeling quite upset by the noise and violent jerking, the twins simultaneously opened their dull blue eyes and mustered a tired glare at the person who was shaking them so roughly, not quite comprehending what was going on. _

_"Guys, wake up! We need to get out of here!" the person yelled angrily, smacking their shoulders repeatedly—and it was then that their minds recognized the person as their best friend, Michelle Radcliffe. Feeling confused, the twins sat up from where they lay crumpled at the base of the stairs and tried to comprehend what was going on. Michelle grabbed their slender arms and yanked both blondes off the ground before they could blink, and after that she began dragging them out of the dorm they shared with the other orphans. Taking a quick glance around them as they were dragged, the twins realized that the noises that had awoken them was the screeching of all the fire alarms that were spreading throughout the building. _

_It was then that the blondes also noticed that they and Michelle were the only ones in the room. _

_Were they having a fire drill? Had they slept through most of it due to the sleep-aids the nuns made them take? The twins received their answer when Michelle yanked open the door to their room and a torrid wave of heat hit them from the hall. _

_The building was, in fact, on fire. _

_"Oh, shit!" Michelle cried, covering her mouth with her sleeve in order to avoid breathing in the harmful smoke. Patty and Percy stood where they were in dumbfounded shock as the heat washed over their frail bodies, staring at the burning hall with identical wide blue eyes as they tried to process everything. Their slightly wavy blonde hair rippled like molten lava in the light of the inferno and their grey orphanage uniforms fanned out in the fiery wind that had suddenly engulfed their forms. Michelle grabbed the hands of both twins once more and began dragging them into the flames before they could notice anything else. _

_All Percy could see was the back of Michelle's head—her dyed purple hair almost matching the fire's tinge. Tearing his eyes away from Michelle after a moment, Patty looked at the fire around them. Was the orphanage really burning or was this a dream? His drugged mind couldn't process anything. The orange flames reflected in the deepening ocean blue eyes of the twins as it danced about, licking the walls and ceiling as it hungrily devoured the chipped paint. _

_Mind still hazed, Patty and Percy allowed Michelle to pull them through the fire; they still couldn't decide whether this was a dream or reality, but it didn't really matter either way because Michelle was their best friend. However, the sound of rapid footsteps made Michelle pause and turn around with a confused expression; she glanced around frantically as the twins watched her in a daze, but apparently whatever she'd seen or heard had been of little importance since she groaned and started to turn around. _

_Suddenly, she froze and whipped to look behind Percy's head; her blue-green eyes widened._

_"Rayne, w-what are you doing?!" Michelle cried. "Don't! Percy, look out!" _

_"What is it?" Persephone had asked, blinking softly in confusion until a crushing force slammed into her back and an agonizing ripping sensation tore into her spine. Her sparkling blue eyes went round in shock and pain as the force of the blow knocked her off her feet and into the air; there was a heavy pressure inside and against her back, but she somehow managed to land on her feet and keep her footing despite the unrealism around her. When she looked up, she saw that Michelle had taken a step back and was staring over Percy's shoulder with an utterly horrified expression on her face._

_"R-Rayne…" the girl whispered, blue green eyes becoming huge. "What have you done?"_

_"What's… happening?" Patty choked out, falling to his knees and suddenly finding it hard to breathe. _

_Blue eyes wide and blank, Persephone slowly turned to look over her shoulder and saw Rayne Harris—a seventeen year old black boy—grinning down at her with a psychotic expression on his face. The light of the inferno reflected in his glowing pink eyes as he chuckled hysterically: he looked so much scarier than before..._

_"You smell good, little Percy… finally, I got my chance," he hissed, licking his lips before he jerked something out of the little girl's back as hard as he could. Percy and Patty gasped at the same time, and suddenly they couldn't breathe due to the agony that enveloped their chests. As he ripped the serrated butcher knife out of the blonde girl's body and licked the blood off the blade, both twins gasped and struggled to pull in enough air to scream in pain, but their lungs were stuck. The force of his retraction had spun Persephone in a circle and sent her sprawling onto the burning floor: arching her little back and choking as she tried to breathe, the small girl clutched her stomach as blood began to stain the front and back of her dress._

_"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" she choked repeatedly as she writhed. "Patty, help! It hurts!"_

_Blood began to pool beneath her as she gasped and stared up at the burning ceiling with dilated pupils, and her brother shakily crawled over and took her hand, allowing their powers to fuse: a flash of light engulfed the wound and it abruptly healed with a spray of glittering blue light. Then Michelle was running past them and shoving Rayne; a loud scream and a muffled thud ensued, and then the girl was helping the twins to their feet and supporting their weight. _

_She struggled to carry the girl and boy to the exit, but by that point the fire had cut off most of the escape routes—and the only remaining one was quickly destroyed when the ceiling above them began to crumble. Michelle yelped when the heavy ceiling joists crashed onto the floor in front of them, blocking their path; just as quickly as the roof had collapsed above them, the edge of the wooden floor dropped nearly a foot beneath their feet, unbalancing the three kids as the edge crumbled away completely. Patty and Percy slipped off Michelle's shoulders and staggered backwards toward the edge with vacant looks of pain on their face. _

_Michelle's hands snapped outward and clamped around both of their wrists without warning._

_"Patty, Percy, just hang on, okay?!" Michelle cried, gritting her teeth as she fought to hold onto them. _

_She and the twins slid backwards as one end of the wooden floor dropped even further and tilted dangerously behind the blondes, causing both of them to lose their balance. Unable to keep their footing on the unstable ground, Persephone and Patrokalos stumbled unsteadily and slid backwards on the wood. _

_Suddenly, there was nothing underneath their feet and they felt a sickening jolt as weightlessness engulfed their stomachs. _

_Percy's wide blue eyes met Michelle's green ones as she and her brother fell backwards off the edge: it had all begun to happen so quickly, yet somehow seemed as if it were happening in slow motion—time itself seeming to slow to a near halt in an attempt to capture this horrifying moment and burn it into the folds of history. _

_"PERCY! PATTY!" Michelle shrieked hysterically, voice seeming to echo as the she slowly flailed to grab their small hands once again. However, she missed and the twins fell backwards—away from her and into the darkness. Their shoulder-length hair fanned out around their small bodies as they dropped away, and the world began to blur as a sudden and abnormal silence engulfed the air around them. _

_With a silent jolt, the twins saw everything with stunning clarity. _

_Persephone and Patrokalos stared at Michelle with huge, terrified blue eyes—little hands still outstretched to where the teenage girl was still slowly flailing to grab them. The image of their only friend's green eyes was the last thing either of them remembered before their bodies slammed into the ground. The twins saw an explosion of stars when their head hit the concrete—but not even two seconds after they hit it, three ceiling joists smashed into their backs and pinned them, side-by-side, to the burning basement floor in awkward positions. Still conscious but fading fast, the twins heard their names being called—but the hysterical cries were cut off by another crash and a blood-curdling scream. The twins winced as a hot, sticky liquid splashed down onto her face. _

_They closed their blue eyes when the world began to fade away into complete darkness. _

Raven opened her eyes with a gasp, but then her stomach flipped and she was falling again.

_"Ugh, you really need to be more careful, Percy!" an older-looking Patrokalos sighed, clutching his twin sister's arm and steering her around a sketchy-looking man who had been eyeing her from a distance. "You're way too naive… jeez."_

_"What do you mean?" the girl asked in genuine surprise, blinking up at her twin. _

_"That right there is what I mean: you didn't even notice that creep," the blonde boy retorted; it had been a year since their orphanage had burned to the ground, but ever since they had lost Michelle… well, the twins had refused to let anybody else come near them if they had any intention of becoming their friend. At the moment, both nine-year-old blondes were busy walking home from school on a late afternoon with their shopping bags in hand: the twins were living at a new foster home since nobody had wanted to adopt both of them at the same time. That was the saddest part about being an orphan and having siblings of any sort: most adults only wanted one child to call their own and wouldn't hesitate to split you apart._

_After a moment, Percy and her brother stopped at a concrete highway pedestrian-bridge before making their way up the two-hundred stone steps. Lost in thought, the small blonde girl made it to the top and brushed past a bunch other people who were busy going about their own lives, bustling to and fro. However, she and her brother hadn't known that their entire grip on reality was about to change in the next few seconds, or that it would happen on that very bridge._

_"Hey! Help! Help, he's got my purse!" an Asian girl screamed; Persephone abruptly jumped and looked up to see a man with a baseball cap dodging through the throng toward her and her brother, carrying a red purse in his arms the way a mother would clutch a baby; her brother jumped in a similar manner when he unexpectedly felt a spike in his twin's rage._

_"Hey, stop that! Give that back, you jerk!" the little girl angrily cried, running forward and tackling the man headfirst, struggling to hold him in place as the people around them started shouting. _

_"Percy!" Patty cried, trying to get through the crowd. "Percy, stop!"_

_"Let go of her purse you stupid idiot!" Percy screamed, biting the man's arm when he'd grabbed her shoulder-length blonde hair and violently tried to jerk her off of him. "Ow! Let it go or I'll start biting you, and I have inch-long fangs!"_

_"Okay! Okay! Whatever you say! It ain't even worth all this hassle!" the man had finally yelled, throwing the purse into the air. Percy let go of him and darted around his body with a laugh, leaping for the purse with an outstretched hand. Her small white fist had closed around the strap and she'd felt strangely exhilarated with the victory she'd just achieved. _

_"Hah! I got the purse ba—" Persephone had begun to laugh, but her big blue eyes widened when the robber roughly shoved her from behind and purposely made her lose her balance. Blue eyes going round in shock and surprise, the blonde girl flipped over the side of the pedestrian-bridge with a terrified squeak: total silence ensued for nearly two full seconds. _

_"PERSEPHONE!" Patrokalos screamed, bolting forward as the people on the bridge went hysterical, all of them trying to crowd around the edge of the bridge and look down. Percy didn't care about them; all she could comprehend was that she was falling face-first toward the highway nearly thirty-five feet below. Suddenly, images were burning in her mind._

_Houses were on fire! People were screaming! Mangled bodies! Blood! Death! _

_"Patty, h—help me!" she'd wailed, calling futilely for her brother and shielding her face as she hurtled toward the pavement. _

_She'd felt herself jerk almost to a complete halt the moment the last syllable escaped her lips, shuddering violently as frozen air whirled around her body. Percy had kept her eyes squeezed shut, however, fearing that she'd died—but then she opened her eyes and found that she was slowly being lowered to the ground by her startled-looking brother, who had somehow been jerked off the bridge by her cry. Swirling metallic feathers made of bluish sparkles had surrounded the two of them: on top of that, a set of feathered wings the color of lava were sticking out of her brother's back. However, the most shocking part to both twins was the fact that nobody but them seemed to have noticed the sparkles and wings that were sticking through the boy's clothes._

_"What the hell…" Patty whispered, glowing yellow eyes going round as he and his sister were set on the ground. _

_"…is going on here?" Percy finished, looking just as terrified. _

_Persephone was still holding the woman's purse, but she was completely unharmed. Her brother had just set her down when a car horn suddenly honked way too loudly: the twins whirled to the side and clutched each other—freezing as their eyes simultaneously widened in terror. The tires of a pick-up truck screeched across the blacktop road as it swerved toward them: they were both hit by something heavy, but it came from a direction that neither one of them had been expecting. Percy and Patty landed hard on the sidewalk, scraping their elbows as an elderly man held them in his arms. _

_He'd saved their lives. _

_"Are you kids all right?" he'd asked, sounding worried. "Did you get hurt?"_

_"We're fine, thanks," Patty replied, shakily standing up and gripping his sister's hand before unsteadily running back to the bridge. The twins stumbled dizzily up the stairs as a surge of people swamped them, asking if they were all right. The twins nodded and told them they were fine before the girl looked for the Asian woman who'd lost her purse. _

_When she'd handed the bag back to her, the woman hugged her tightly thanked her over and over again. After that, Percy and Patty had run back to the foster home, feeling so afraid of what had happened that they feared bursting into tears. Since then, the twins had vowed kept their frightening abilities a secret from everyone: hidden from the outside world and known only to them. _

Raven felt sick by that point: being tossed around like a cotton ball in a toilet wasn't a pleasant experience at all. She tried summoning her powers before the stream of memories could pull her away again, but for some reason the girl couldn't access her center in this void of music and emotional pain: before she could think of a solution, she felt her belly flop and she was dragged down into darkness again. She saw images and heard hundreds of voices that blurred and distorted as she passed.

_The sky began to cloud over and it slowly began to rain as two identical blonde children dragged a terrified Asian girl to the abandoned warehouse they'd been sleeping in ever since the latest foster family had tried to split them up. The three of them ran inside to get out of the oncoming downpour and made their way into the back of the factory, where they all huddled down together and shivered. Maki, the Asian girl, began wailing hysterically while Patrokalos and Persephone merely sat and stared vacantly at the wall, too shocked to fully comprehend what had just happened to the orphan girl's foster family. _

_"I'm going back home to my new Mommy and Daddy!" Maki suddenly shouted, stumbling to her feet and startling the twins who were sitting on the floor right next to her. "They might still be alive! We can't just leave them there like that!"_

_"You can't go back, Maki!" Persephone squeaked desperately, clinging to her friend's hand and tugging gently; stray strands of her blonde hair shone like fire as it spilled from underneath her beanie, and tears filled her sparkling blue eyes as the older girl tried to get up again. "Maki, you can't go back! Your family is gone! Don't leave us here all alone, please!"_

_"It's not true!" the Japanese girl wailed, flinging her short black hair around and burying her face in her free hand as she began to cry. "It's just not true! They can't be dead! Maybe they're still alive! Maybe we can still save them, please?!"_

_"It is true!" Patrokalos cried, clinging to his sister's arm when she began to cry. "We all saw it! That guy shot them!"_

_"No! No, no, no!" Maki whined, falling to her knees as she burst into discordant sobs. "Why are the three of us still alive when they had to die? Why did that guy's arms fly off like that? There was so much blood… it was red everywhere!"_

_"I…" Persephone stammered weakly, feeling jittery when she remembered how the powers that she and her brother shared had gone haywire. The gun-wielding man had murdered their friend's parents before turning the weapon on them, and because of that the twins had accidentally killed him due to their… abnormalities. "I don't think I can ever forget it."_

_"Percy-san, Patty-san… you're all I have now," Maki whimpered, wiping her eyes and staring down at the small blonde-haired twins sitting next to her through her wet bangs. "Will you both stay here with me from now on? Forever and ever?"_

_"We'll stay here until morning, and then we'll all leave this town together," Persephone stated, pulling her hat down over her eyes and drawing her knees up to her chest in an effort to stop crying. "It'll be safer to travel if we aren't sleepy."_

_"It's useless, though…" Maki whispered from beside them; Patty shifted slightly as a pang went through Percy's chest and they both up, crystal blue eyes twinkling in the dim light as the twins stared at their crying friend. "No matter how far we run away, we'll never escape from the law. They'll think we killed everyone and they'll chase us, so trying to run is useless."_

_The twins' blue eyes saddened as they stared at Maki, but then they got an idea and brightened up. Sharing an excited glance with each other, the twins clasped their hands and sent their wind energy flying at the old toy pandas that littered the abandoned warehouse; the blonde children then used the air currents to throw the stuffed bears into the air and made them do a swirling dance, both of them grinning with identical smiles as their irises flickered and began to glow a fiery yellow._

_"Maki, look!" Percy squeaked with a mischievous grin, tapping the Japanese girl on the shoulder. _

_"Huh?" Maki asked, sniffing as she glanced up: her slanted brown eyes went wide, however, when she saw the floating pandas doing the circling dance around their heads. "W-what's happening? The panda bears are flying around the room!"_

_"This is supposed to be a secret for just me and Percy, but we're magicians!" Patrokalos replied with a giggle, comically rubbing his chin with his thumb and pointer finger like a proud man feeling his beard. "There's nothing we can't do!"_

_"Eh...?" Maki intoned blankly, staring at the twins for a long moment as her mouth hung open; then she blinked a few times and a huge grin split her young face before she tackled the smaller kids to the ground. "Amazing! You're amazing!"_

_"What are you—?" Patrokalos squawked, blinking rapidly in surprise when the older girl pulled him and his twin sister into her arms and hugged them both protectively. Patty and Percy stared at the wall over Maki's shoulder as the pandas fell to the floor, no longer having any control over them due to their hands being separated. "Maki… why are you hugging us?"_

_"No matter how many years pass, and no matter how many people chase us," the Japanese girl whispered into their long blonde hair, "please, Persephone-san… please Patrokalos-san… don't leave me all alone. Don't ever abandon me, okay?"_

_"M-Maki..." Persephone whispered in horror, face twisting up as pain flashed across it. _

_"Please don't leave me alone…" Maki pleaded again. _

_"But we…" Patrokalos stammered fearfully, shaking slightly as the Asian girl hugged them tighter. _

_"Please…?" Maki pleaded, quieter this time; the angelic children pulled away and stared at the girl's face, gauging her expression with serious blue eyes: she seemed confused by the action, hopeful that they would say yes and terrified that they would say no at the same time. This girl, whom they had both met only a few hours ago, really wanted to stay by their sides. _

_"R... really?" Persephone whispered as a vulnerable expression crossed her features. _

_"Really, Nii-chan! You and Patty-san will be my new little brother and sister!" Maki happily confirmed, hugging both twins again and kissing them on the cheeks before pulling away; the blondes were taken aback by the affectionate actions. _

_"You promise?" Patrokalos whispered, blue eyes filling with tears._

_"Yes!" Maki assured, getting up and taking the smaller children's hands. _

_"Wait a second, where are we going?" Persephone asked, clutching at Maki's arm as she fought to remain seated; a sudden realization hit her and she pulled Maki back down. "You aren't going to talk to any policemen, are you?"_

_"Um..." Maki intoned, trailing off and staring at the ground; Patty blanched and grabbed the larger girl's shoulders._

_"You can't!" the boy cried hysterically, but then shielded his eyes when several blinding lights unexpectedly illuminated the room they were huddled in. Just before Maki pulled the twins down and held them close, Persephone managed to see through the glare and spotted a whole team of armed policemen holding machine guns in their arms. Two other men were conversing out of her earshot, but they seemed to be arguing about something. She frowned and squinted to see a bit better, but then one of the arguing men shook his head, stomped his foot, turned his head, and shouted, "FIRE!"_

_"NOOO!" Maki shrieked, clutching the twins to her chest as a deafening cacophony exploded into the world; however, the identical blondes instantly touched each other's hands, large blue eyes focusing on the team of officers as a protective cocoon of liquid exploded out of the air and froze in front of them, shielding all three children from the murderous bullets._

_"It's all right, Onii-chan," Persephone stated, extremely high-pitched voice sounding unconcerned and brave; when the men stopped firing, she and her brother glared before lifting their arms and sending lightning bolts and vines flying at them, all the while using their control over the air to send boxes, shelves, and other projectiles flying straight into the armed group. _

_"They're trying to kill us!" the Asian girl cried._

_"No they won't! We won't let them!" Patrokalos cried, pulling Maki to her feet before he and his twin stood protectively in front of the Asian girl with their arms spread wide. Making several carefully aimed strikes with boxes and lightning bolts, the twins effectively made the men scatter or sent them sprawling. After that they glanced up at Maki—who was whiter than a sheet and shaking violently. "We're magicians, remember? No one can get to us! Don't worry, Maki, we'll protect you!"_

_Persephone waited for the next attack while her brother spoke, but nobody moved; they just stood there and stared, which seemed a little odd in her eyes. Most people would have been charging another assault by that point, so why weren't they doing anything? Percy pondered it with a slight frown, but couldn't think of anything; without a word, Maki suddenly used all of her strength to shove her and her brother aside. At the same time, the sound of a single gunshot exploded through the factory and the Japanese girl let out a sound that seemed caught between a wavering gasp and a squeak. _

_The eyes of Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius blanked out as the girl's body tilted past them; they simultaneously turned their heads and watched with identical empty expressions as the little girl fell heavily on her stomach, arms sprawling out at her sides. Maki lay there on the ground, unblinking, as blood began to pool around her torso; it was spilling from a hole in the back of her school uniform. Percy and Patty's crystal blue eyes widened and the twins slowly opened their mouths as an unbearable pressure built inside their chests, but for some reason, no sound escaped either of their lips. Shoulders shaking, the twins finally let out a horrified screech that shook the walls of the building before they fell to their knees. The boy frantically lifted the Asian girl onto her lap as his sister desperately shook her shoulders, tiny hands clutching her shirt._

_"Maki! Get up! Say something, Maki!" she shrieked, then tilted her head back and burst into tears. "Patty, why does this keep happening to us?! Why does everyone we love have to die?! No more! No more killing! No more death! Stop it all!"_

_"No, no, no," Patrokalos croaked, lowering his head and weeping as his heart cracked. "Why did it happen again…?"_

_The twins' tears were cut off when another gunshot echoed from behind them: Percy felt a searing sting as something grazed her cheek, tearing a few strands of her long blonde hair from the roots. Her sparkling eyes flew open as blood began trickling down her cheek: she had momentarily forgotten that they weren't alone, but now her heart was in her throat._

_"It's because there's no place for demons in the world of the humans," the man holding the gun sneered. _

_Persephone and Patrokalos slowly turned around as tears streamed down their fragile faces: every man in the building was pointing a gun straight at them, but both blondes glared at all of them so fiercely that it could have made the devil's blood run cold if he had been present. Unfortunately, though, they couldn't muffle the sobs that were escaping their lips. _

_"You came here…" Patrokalos whispered questioningly through his tears, "not because of Maki's family was murdered, but because of us? You shot her! You shot our new sister! How could you do something like that to her?! How could you?!"_

_"Just give up and shut up, monster," the man stated snidely, rolling his eyes. "You can't run away from us anymore."_

_"Maki doesn't have anything to do with us not being human!" Persephone screeched, breaking down and clutching Maki's immobile form close to her chest. "She's all we have left, so please! Save her! Save her! Save her, please!"_

_"Let's make a deal," another man stated, walking forward and staring at the twins through his black and orange mask. _

_"A-a deal?" Patrokalos asked, drawing back sniffling slightly. "Fine, we'll do anything!"_

_"If you surrender to me obediently, I'll save that girl's life," the masked man stated slyly, narrowing his eye. _

_"Fine, but you have to keep your word!" Percy choked out, crying quietly as she clutched Maki close and buried her face in the girl's short black hair. "You have to keep your word and save her… she's the only person who ever really wanted us."_

_"I'll keep my word," the masked man said quietly._

_"Then, please… save her life and take us with you," the twins whispered simultaneously, reluctantly setting Maki on the ground before they both stood up with their arms hanging limply at her sides. Upon close inspection of their bodies, shock and amazement spread across the ranks of officers: to the people looking at the twins, it was revealed that they were only four feet tall. _

_The twins braced themselves before the men tackled them, but neither blonde was unable to muffle the pained squeak that involuntarily escaped their lungs when they were slammed onto the ground; not even a second later, two men planted their boots on the back of the twins' necks. Gasping and crying, the little girl and boy let themselves lie motionless while the men cuffed their hands behind their backs. When the policeman finally forced the blondes to her feet, something heavy hit them behind the head and knocked them half-way unconscious. Cold perspiration clung to their pale skin as their once-shallow breathing was slowly replaced with heavy panting: both twins were fading fast into darkness._

_"Maki…" Persephone whispered, stretching out her heart to the silhouette as her vision began to dissolve. Frantically reaching out to the shadow as the image shattered completely, she let out a sob when her world faded and a frantic buzzing took over her senses. Then, the girl's consciousness fell into darkness as she and her brother were illegally dragged away._

_By none other than Slade himself._

Raven's violet eyes snapped open wide and her face went blank: she was no longer being swirled around through the twins' memories, but she had a sickening feeling that the worst part was just starting to begin because of three things.

One: she was hovering above the source of their emotional pain, a memory so black that she could see nothing.

Two: the twins hadn't gotten any scars in their past memories.

Three: the extent of this particular memory stretched on for nearly five years, right up to the present.

Raven let out a croak of dismay when she felt the emotions inside the black memory pull her forward, like a helpless ray of light in the face of a black hole lurking in the deepest recesses of space. There was no escaping the pull of this horrifyingly powerful experience. The moment she was submerged in it's shadows, she couldn't breathe: her violet eyes went round as the sound of horrifying disembodied screams shredded through her mind. Several years worth of ripping pain seared across the skin on her back, burning it and flaying it before healing over time… only to endure worse forms of agonizing torture. She saw nothing but absolute darkness as the twins' memories of being locked up ripped her soul-self to shreds, feeling what they had felt as they experienced the utter torture of being test-subjects for humans who had no sense of self-righteousness. Then, after helplessly enduring five years' worth of this mindless torture and ripping agony, a clear memory finally broke through her dazed mind.

_"Patty…" Persephone croaked, struggling to lift her leaden head as her arms dangled helplessly above her. "It hurts…"_

_"I know it does, Percy… just try to endure it," Patrokalos whispered weakly, slowly turning his head and looking at his severely injured sister through his stringy, blood-soaked bangs. "We'll get out of here someday… we'll get out and go live in a big house with lots of happy people! People who'll accept us for not being human… people who won't hurt us like this…"_

_"When…?" the girl croaked, looking up at him with blood trickling from her mouth; the chains holding her arms made a soft jingling noise as she struggled to move her deadened legs. "Patty… I-I… I wouldn't mind them testing on us so much if they would just let me wear some clothes. I don't like the way some of the… soldiers and doctors… look at me these days."_

_"I know," the blonde boy soothed, weakly giving his fragile sister a smile. _

_"My… back hurts…" the girl mumbled, slowly lowering her head. "It hurts so much… they cut me up again, Patty…"_

_"You'll be fine, okay?" Patrokalos whispered, smiling even as tears slid down his cheeks. "We'll both be fine! After all, the doctors told us that we're angels! We're just like the messengers from the Bible, so God has to be looking out for us!"_

_"Is it my fault…?" Persephone asked, looking at her brother with weak blue eyes. "Is it my fault Mom and Dad died?"_

_"Of course not," her brother hissed vehemently. "Don't ever ask that question again!"_

_"I'm sorry…" the girl murmured; a sudden hiss and a whoosh echoed from the front of the hospital dungeon, which meant that more tests were most likely on the way. "No, no, no… please, no more! I don't want to hurt anymore! No!"_

_"Shhh, just stay calm," her brother choked out, looking terrified despite his words. Quite abruptly, a man they'd never seen before bolted into their line of vision and froze like a marble statue: his cerulean eyes went blank with horror as the twins huddled down, shivering so violently that the blood that had crusted on their naked bodies cracked off in flakes. Slowly making his way forward, the man was increasingly horrified by the open wounds and jagged scars that were stretched out on the children's underfed bodies: his legs literally started shaking as he bolted over to the chains restraining them. When he unclasped the girl, she merely fell forward in a heap; he unclasped her twin brother to find that the boy was barely strong enough to crawl over to his incapacitated sister. "Percy… Percy, I think… an angel came to save us! God sent an angel!"_

_"Mr. Angel, help us!" the frail girl bawled, crying as she struggled to sit up. "Don't leave us here… please."_

_"You kids," the man stated blankly, "are the only ones in this facility who are being treated like this. I'm going to get you out of here no matter what kind of effort it takes, okay? My name is Agent Miles, and I work undercover for the C.I.A. I was briefed by the government to find out what's really going on in this facility… but I'm guessing the answer to that is you two."_

_With that, the man grabbed Persephone under the arms and swept her up Bridal-style; then he knelt down and motioned for Patrokalos to climb onto his back. The blonde boy struggled a bit, but managed to pull himself into a good position; then the man who had rescued them stood up and took off towards the door he'd slipped in from. Both twins flinched and abruptly squeezed their eyes shut when he walked into a hall full of fluorescent lights: they had been chained in the dark for so long that it nearly blinded them just being in area like this. Patty and Percy kept their eyes closed even when an uproar broke out; quite suddenly, they felt a strong wind rocketing across their naked bodies and hesitantly opened their sparkling blue eyes._

_They were outside in the moonlight… it had been so long since they'd seen the stars…_

_"Kids, I'm gonna be right back," their rescuer stated calmly, regarding them with firm brown eyes after he'd set them both down near a cliff that faced the pacific ocean. "Don't move or leave unless I've been gone for more than an hour."_

_"Don't leave us all alone!" Percy whined, clutching at his pant-leg. _

_"I'll be right back," the man assured her; however, both blondes flinched and stared up at him with huge eyes when a deafening crack resounded through the nighttime air. The man who had saved their lives jerked and his expression went blank the moment that sound split the air: with shaking hands, he slowly reached up to touch the back of his head and looked down to see pieces of his skull on his hand, along with so much blood that it had turned his pale skin completely red._

_"Mister… Angel?" Persephone choked out, staring up at him with frightened eyes when he smiled weakly._

_"Sorry for lying to you…" he stated shakily, eyes rolling up before he crumpled like a sack of potatoes. The twins stared at his body with horrified blue eyes, clutching each other's hands as a familiar pressure built up inside their chest: when the blondes looked up to see several laughing military men running toward them with cheers of triumph, they felt an inhuman rage spark to life inside them and their eyes simultaneously flared with a blood-like crimson light. Slowly standing up despite their severely shaking limbs, the angels hunched their shoulders and took a deep breath as the moon unexpectedly went dark._

_Then, as the Bible once spoke of in Revelations, the Angel of Wrath descended upon mankind and a third of the militia was obliterated with the force of their ensuing screech of rage. The rest were shredded by vines, skewered by crystalline shards of water, turned into ash by searing white fire, and had their heads blown to pieces by controlled pockets of air that had a similar effect to the vacuum known as space. Soon only a single soldier remained, and they turned their Wrath on him._

_However, this particular soldier managed to fire a two-hundred-caliber anti-tank rifle right at them before he died._

_The twins whipped around and shielded their bodies with ice, air, earth, plants, and fire, but the bullet was only partially deflected and it exploded so forcefully that the twins were blown off the edge of the cliff. The two of them barely managed to hold on two each other as they flipped towards the frothing ocean, but they somehow locked together and went into the water with their hands touching: because of this, they didn't drown and managed to swim to the surface. They held onto each other as the tide pulled them somewhere far away… the waves lulling them into exhaustion… the sand beneath their feet…_

_Wait, sand…?_

_The twins slowly made their way out of the water, still holding onto each other as they fled: their abnormally pale bodies were still bleeding heavily, and as the afternoon sun illuminated their forms from behind, several people lazing around on the beach began to let out an uproar. The twins staggered and fell to the ground as a large group of people sprinted toward where they had both fallen, and when a woman patted their cheeks and started shouting for them to hold on, Patrokalos grabbed onto her hand and looked her straight in the eyes. The woman was so startled by his expression that she shut up._

_"They're going to kill us anyway," he whispered, eyes rolling dizzily, "so, please… don't help us or you'll die, too…"_

_"Don't get hurt over us… just let us die," Persephone croaked, and quite promptly, both twins fainted._

Raven's violet eyes remained closed, for she knew that if she opened them, tears would start streaming down her pale cheeks and she would cry for the fourth time in her entire life. They had been crushed so badly that they had actually given up on living only a few months before she and her friends had found them in the Canyon: it was no wonder they'd lost it like that after seeing these memories. One final memory was seeking its way towards her… only a month after they'd left the hospital.

This memory had a bittersweet feeling to it, unlike the rest... and sadly, it was also the happiest.

_The wind blew steadily through their newly-cropped blonde hair as the soft scent of flowers tickled their noses. Nothing could compare to the feeling of lying in a field of flowers after being locked in the dark for so long… the plants seemed to thrive and bloom just to make them happy: they were so in tune with nature that they could sense this particular fact. The twins had always felt a special connection to the earth and sky, but even more so to the blooming plants and wild animals. _

_Even though they were now so skinny that they looked anorexic, the twins were happier than they could ever remember being._

_From the moment they could think, the twins had known they'd been born to walk along this earth. Their new foster sister, Saelind, suddenly tore into the field with a squeal of laughter and ran through the flowers, looking totally excited by the fact that they had bloomed for the twins again. The tiny child sped over to her newest siblings and flopped down between them, poking the arm of her teddy bear into her mouth as she lay back and stared at the big blue sky with her glittering blue eyes. _

_"Mama Arty says it's time for dinner," the little girl happily mumbled, not taking her eyes off the clouds. "She says she's making your favorite pumpkin pie since so many grew for you guys this season. She wants to make all the pumpkins happy."_

_"Oh, come on, Saelind," Patrokalos sighed, turning his head and playfully ruffling his little sister's curly hair. "First of all, a sister can't be another sister's Mama unless she and their Papa did bad things with each other—and don't ask me what those bad things are, Little Lady, because you'll figure it out when you're much, much older. It's an inappropriate topic." _

_"Second of all," Persephone continued, already knowing what her twin brother was going to say, "plants are,… well, kind of strange to the two of us. Maybe it's because we're angels… we feel like we can understand them, somehow, which is why I personally think they grow more beautifully whenever we're around. I guess they like having someone to talk to, huh?"_

_"Well, Papa Archie and Mama Arty said that you and Patty are chatterboxes and they bloom just to make you stop talking!" Saelind giggled, sticking her tongue out when the boy and girl glared at her good-naturedly. As if the little girl's words had called them, Artemis and Archimedes walked out of the trees with their hands clasped together: upon spotting the three of them lying in the grass together, Archie laughed and Arty rolled her eyes before they both headed towards them._

_"Hey, little ones," Artemis sighed, sitting down and smiling at them gently, "supper's ready if you want to eat."_

_"Hey, Arty," Patrokalos murmured, gently touching the stem of a red and yellow flower. "Percy and I have a question."_

_"Well, I've got some time, so shoot," the older girl stated, flopping back and staring at the sky as well._

_"Do you think there are other people out there with powers like us?" Persephone asked, glancing at their new adoptive sister with a curious expression on her face. Artemis and Archimedes instantly shared a glance and sighed before returning their gazes to the wondering twins before them. They'd been thinking about this for while now, so they already knew what to say. _

_"Well, I don't exactly know what they can do, but from what I know… yes, there are," Archimedes explained. "You see, Little Ones, even though you were adopted by human people like us, we don't really know much about your kind. From what I've learned after poking around in your old files, you two are very different from the rest of this awkward family of misfits."_

_"How so?" Patrokalos asked, fiddling with a piece of grass. "We've been told a lot of things about our kind, but none of it seems to make any sort of sense to us… so, what really makes us different from you humans, aside from the aging and the supernatural powers?"_

_"Well, Old Lady Coco who lives just up the road said that you two most likely can't control your powers at will like your parents could, since you two share one soul," Artemis explained, shrugging as she stared at the sky. "She also said that you two are most likely stronger by a hundred fold because your powers are stimulated by what you feel. The old coot didn't go into all that much detail, but she did tell us that a normal angel's power is limited by their body strength. Your power is limited by your emotional strength, which is virtually endless, I guess. I think that's what the old lady meant by stronger, too: your power could become scary if you ever felt too much of a negative emotion… right?"_

_"How does this Coco lady know we share a soul?" Persephone asked, head whipping up in alarm._

_"She's a psychic, honey," Artemis deadpanned, eyes going half-lidded. "She once scared the bajeezus out of me, you know: it was a few years ago, and I had a big and… uh, uncouth secret that I was keeping from everyone. One day that old lady walks up to me in the marketplace and whispers real loudly, "you'd better hide that thing of yours under your bed, or your little brother Archie will see it and go totally nuts.' I nearly shit a brick when I went home and saw that she had been right."_

_"Wow!" Saelind squealed, staring at Percy with an awed expression. "I didn't know Mama Coco could do that!"_

_"Well, we didn't even know she could until a second ago," Persephone giggled, poking the little girl in the belly. "That makes three of us who were left in the dark. Don't be jealous, otherwise I'll tickle your tummy until you wet yourself."_

_"Be nice, Percy," Patrokalos laughed, poking his twin in the arm._

_"Sorry, Patty," the blonde girl giggled, poking her tongue out at him._

_"It smells so good out here," Artemis murmured, closing her eyes. "Tell me, guys, what happened to make you so happy today? The flowers are blooming even more beautifully than they usually do… you're making my air freshener very jealous." _

_"Oh, I met someone totally hot at school today because of Patty! He looked so yummy that I thought I would die, AND he just got out of boot camp so his abs are hard as a rock," Persephone explained, blushing crimson and giggling when she thought about the green-haired boy's wicked smile. "He even dyed his hair to match his combat uniform, and he wears these yellow contacts that make him look sexy and vampire-ish! Still, he's kind of hard to hug since his abs are so… well, yummy!"_

_"You say it as though you actually want to eat him," Archimedes snorted, chuckling in amusement when Saelind blinked in confusion and stared up at both of them with questioning eyes. "Don't worry… we'll tell you when you're older, Sae." _

_"Good God, he really has to be good looking if you're talking like that," Artemis noted, cocking an eyebrow. "I've never heard you use the term 'yummy' for anything other than my cooking these past two months, so he must be a total hottie. You planning on taking him to the femme fatale festival this fall? Because I've heard you still haven't found a date for it yet."_

_"You bet!" Persephone giggled, wiggling all over as she thought about the new guy. "I mean, he's just totally hot!"_

_"Yeah," Artemis snickered, rolling her eyes before she sat up and got to her feet, "just make sure you use a condom."_

_"E-e-e-e-excuse me?!" Persephone squeaked, face turning red when her brothers burst into a fit of laughter and rolled around on the grass in hysterics. "S-shut up, you two! That's not funny at all! I really didn't mean it like that, you idiots!" _

_"Whatever you say," the older girl chortled, dusting off her apron and heading towards their cottage. "Anyway, dinner is ready right now, so make sure you all come home before it gets too cold, okay? Ciao, little ones!"_

_"You moron!" Persephone wailed, covering her face when both of her brothers continued to laugh uncontrollably. _

_"Sissy, what did you mean when you said your new friend is yummy?" Saelind suddenly asked, making the blonde girl turn such a vibrant shade of crimson that Patrokalos and Archimedes nearly busted their guts. "And what's a condom?"_

_"Yup, I think dinner is getting cold!" Persephone abruptly squealed, scrambling to her feet and heading back toward the house with a stiff back while her brothers howled with laughter. Saelind struggled to get up and rapidly plodded after her, teddy bear dragging in the flowers as she tried to keep up with the older girl's brisk pace. On the way there something caught the frail blonde's attention and she paused as an acute pain lanced through her nerves. Slowly turning her head, Percy's blue eyes flashed around until they landed on a pine tree with a gaping hole in the bark. Patrokalos caught up and followed her when she slowly walked over to the tree and placed her hand on it with a sad expression. He hesitantly did the same thing, but his electric blue eyes soon matched his sister's and he frowned in dismay._

_The tree was crying._

_The twins' eyes immediately rippled like water from the pupil outward: a gentle golden light soon began to emanate from their irises, and their positive emotions healed the gaping wound on the tree without warning. The bark abruptly rippled and began to grow at a rapid pace, closing over the injury and covering the sap oozing from the center of it. Once the healing process was totally finished, Patty and Percy blinked and continued walking as their glowing eyes returned to normal._

_"Regardless of what people believe," the girl murmured softly._

_"Plants do bleed and feel pain," the boy finished, and the two walked into the cabin with their brother and sister. _

_"Hey, Arty, we're ready for some chow!" Archimedes called, swaying at the delicious smell filling the house._

_"Hope you got the table ready!" Patrokalos called, grinning at his older brother's reaction._

_"Oh, shush!" the raven-haired girl scolded from the kitchen. "I have your plates ready in the dining room, Goofy."_

_"Wow, you made cornbread!?" Archimedes exclaimed, moving past the kitchen and heading for the table. "Neat!"_

_"Hey, Mama Arty?" Saelind suddenly chirped, staring at the glass porch doors with a confused expression. _

_"What is it, Darling?" the young woman called from the kitchen. _

_"Why are there lots of men wearing green raincoats and orange penguin suits outside our house?" the little girl asked; not even a second later, the glass doors shattered as a fleet of soldiers and mechanical robots vaulted through it. _

Thus, Raven witnessed the chase that led to the events in the canyon: she was increasingly horrified until, quite abruptly, the world erupted into a white light and she was standing inside the shared mind of both twins. Whatever she had expected the mind of Patty and Percy to look like, this definitely wasn't it… especially not after seeing every single one of their memories.

Raven had finally made it to the core of their joined soul, and she was now standing at the edge of a vast lake: very bright sunlight was reflecting off the glassy surface of the water, the air was unnaturally fresh and clear, and it was quiet. It was a very peaceful place, with birds singing somewhere in the distance and a light breeze washing over the water. The lake was surrounded by majestic trees that were shedding their leaves: as far as Raven could tell, the forest continued on forever… but it seemed as though it was autumn here, for all the trees were colored red and orange. Raven slowly stepped forward and hesitantly looked into the water, feeling apprehensive about experiencing anymore of the twins' terrible history. Even though it was vastly deep, she could see colorful stones shining on the bottom… and to put it frankly, Raven was utterly amazed.

However, when the empath finally turned away from the lake, she saw something that looked very out of place: standing between the trees was a door. It wasn't leading anywhere or coming from anywhere, it was just standing there. Raven slowly approached it and examined it carefully, walking around it several times until she noticed something odd: there was a small picture of a flame carved into the door knob. She tried to turn the handle, but found that it was locked tight from the inside.

"Don't open it," an unfamiliar voice murmured. "You mustn't open the door, daughter of Trigon."

Raven spun around to see a creepy little girl with short black hair standing behind her: she had appeared directly behind Raven without her awareness, which was a strange thing in itself. However, when she realized the girl in front of her was only a twisted manifestation of the blondes' horrifying memories, she flinched: the twins were so similar to her that it was scary.

"Why not?" Raven asked the vacant-eyed manifestations with a wary expression. "And how do you know my father?"

"That door leads to the Angel of Wrath," the little girl replied, slanted brown eyes dead of any feeling. "Don't open it…"

"I'm sorry for intruding on you like this, but we're all very worried about Percy and Patty," Raven stated, looking at the familiar little Asian girl with a hollow feeling in her stomach: this girl looked exactly like that Maki child. "Where are they?"

"They fell from the sky," the child stated emptily, cocking her head to the side. " They haven't woken up in a long time."

"Yes, I know," Raven stated gently, feeling increasingly wary of this disturbing apparition, "but do you know why?"

"_Hai, Laven-san_, but I can't tell you about that because I promised not to. I don't know _everything,"_ the little girl stated blankly, turning around and revealing a gaping hole in the back of her middle school uniform; Raven instantly jumped and clapped a hand to her mouth, violet eyes widening in horrified disgust. "Go ask the ghost of Archimedes… he can tell you the truth."

"Archimedes?" Raven muttered once the girl walked over to a set of trees and vanished; the empath uneasily moved away from the locked door, staring at the disturbing carvings on it for the first time. After a moment, though, Raven slowly turned around and closed her eyes before chanting her mantra: she was searching for any lingering traces of Archimedes's soul.

"So, you've sought me out, have you?" a deadened male voice inquired, making the empath's eyes jolt open wide: the boy she'd seen from the twins' memories was currently walking around Raven like a vulture circling its prey… but quite similarly to Maki's ghost, Archimedes had several gaping stab-wounds lying open in a grotesque manner on his back. On top of that, the boy's tone of voice sounded disturbingly similar to Blackfire's. "I'm impressed, Raven: I didn't know you had it in you."

"The spirit of Maki said that you could tell me why the twins are in a coma," the hooded girl said calmly; Archimedes instantly stopped circling and leaned against a tree, looking carelessly at his blood-encrusted fingernails with a deep sigh.

"I could, yes," he stated coldly, eyes becoming scathing, "but why do you care so much?"

"Because Persephone is my best friend," Raven replied fiercely, "and I think I'm developing… feelings for Patrokalos."

Archimedes was caught by surprise, but the emotion only showed it for a second before death returned to him.

"The twins are in a coma because of Terra," the young man stated, staring directly into Raven's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked quickly, "and how come only you can tell me that much?"

"Because out of all the foster families they've lived with, I'm the only one who cared enough to look through their birth files to see what I could do to help them," Archimedes stated. "We loved the twins with everything we had to offer, you see."

"What do you mean when you say it's because of Terra?" Raven asked, heart beginning to turn icy with dread.

"To put it simply, the twins have an older sister…" Archimedes stated coldly, regarding Raven with deep blue eyes that no longer held any form of life. "That six-year-old sister returned home from a friend's house one evening to find that her home was no longer there: it had been completely destroyed… and because of that, an 8.0 earthquake ripped the countryside."

"Older… sister?" Raven deadpanned, keeping her face completely blank. "A biological older sister?"

"Yep, biologically… but the twins themselves don't know this consciously," Archimedes carefully explained. "From what I read in the police archives, Terrahalia, Persephone, and Patrokalos all lived with their immortal parents in a nice little town called Everglade, located right at the base of a mountain. It was a secluded place, supposedly great to raise kids. Their parents loved them and the other members of the town didn't care if the family was different: some of the older folks even helped the D'Andesyrius children with their powers whenever the parents had to go on a business trip. It was a very accepting place."

"Wait… _Terra_ is the twins' older sister?!" Raven scoffed, eyebrows flying skyward.

"I'm going to have to tell you the whole story, aren't I?" Archimedes deadpanned, dead eyes cold. "Fine, but I'm warning you now, Raven: we're dealing with some major psychological issues here. I don't know how this will affect the twins. Okay, when Percy and Patty were five years old and Terra was six, a masked man apparently wandered into their town. He was the same age as their father, and he took an immediate interest in the D'Andesyrius children because of their inhuman powers."

"Masked man…?" Raven asked, frowning a little before her eyes flashed and she blanched. "No way in Azarath!"

"Yes, way," Archimedes stated unenthusiastically. "You see, because I am dead, I have knowledge of things that comes from those who have passed on before me: when you first met Terrahalia D'Andesyrius in the Canyon a year ago, she wasn't running away from that mutated scorpion… nor was she leading it into a trap, like you initially believed. That monster was nothing more than a simple nuisance, even for a girl who couldn't fully control her powers over the earth. It had popped up at random while she'd been in the middle running away from the man you commonly refer to as 'Slade.' In fact, when Terra kept trying to escape from his grasp, he instantly used her own plan against her and went after the younger children with hostile intentions: it was because of him that little Maki Tokitou was killed, as well, for he led the squadron to the factory that they were all hiding in… you see?"

"This isn't…" Raven tried to say, then trailed off: she couldn't deny that it made a lot of sense.

"Terra in general has always been a clever girl," Archimedes stated, looking at a falling leaf with large, dead eyes. "Even at the age of six she was wandering around on her own and helping people, but she didn't have control over her powers back then any more than she did when she first met you all in the canyon. The twins, although they mostly balance each other out whenever they use their powers in sync, are just the same as her: they have so much raw, godlike power flowing through their veins that they just can't let it all out without causing some form of destruction to the world around them. It's impossible."

"No, it's not," Raven retorted, glaring at the spirit. "For Terra, maybe, but the twins have potential for control."

"They won't if they realize the truth about what their sister did," Archimedes stated dryly.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, brows furrowing in confusion. "What did she do?"

"In the beginning, Slade only knew of Terra's powers because the twins' abilities hadn't awoken yet," Archie stated, voice dropping to sinister tone, "so tell me, Raven: if their parents died only a week after he became interested, and the family was split up soon afterward, how could Slade have known that Terra's younger siblings held more power than she herself did?"

Raven's blood literally froze in it's veins.

"She… she betrayed them?" the empath asked, eyes becoming impossibly large as rage seared through her.

"Yes, it seems like you've finally caught on," the ghost whispered nastily, clapping his hands in a mocking fashion. "Terra told Slade about the twins in the hopes that he would stop pursuing her, but it didn't happen quite like that. The man did, in fact, stop chasing her for a while… but that was simply so he could alternate between observing the twins and convincing her to become his apprentice. When she still refused, he caused horrible misfortunes to befall her younger brother and sister: he never interfered directly, but that was simply so he could stand next to Terra and force her to watch as her siblings suffered losing their new-found happiness over, and over, and over again. Persephone and Patrokalos have all but forgotten about their elder sibling, and I highly doubt that Terra even knows who they are. The last time she saw either of them was five years ago: during the time the twins were locked up, enduring the torture you surely experienced upon entering their mind, Terra was running from her own twisted deeds, and Slade, who was always on her trail. She ran into your group by sheer luck."

"That doesn't explain why the twins are in a coma," Raven pointed out, still trying to overcome her severe case of shock.

"They're asleep because, subconsciously, they know it was their older sister's fault all this pain befell them," Archimedes admitted bitterly, looking up with an almost-human emotion for the first time. "They're angels, after all: they all share a sort of bond that somehow stretches deeper than blood. They can't hold back the feeling of betrayal when Terra's right in front of them… so they have to come to grips with the fact that their sister—the one person who should have been there to protect them all these years—was the one who made them suffer, or they'll both stay in a coma until she's not around anymore."

"They'll find out eventually," Raven stated calmly.

"They already did…" Archimedes shot back, pointing over her shoulder; Raven immediately whipped around to see that Patrokalos and Persephone D'Andesyrius were standing three feet away from her, looking at the spirit of Archimedes with such horror-stricken expressions on their faces that it made the empath cringe; she felt the surge of power before she saw it.

Right behind Raven, the door leading to the Angel of Wrath flew open wide.

**TXXXXXT**

"Dude, that's so gross!" Terra squealed, burying her face in Beast Boy's arm as the demonic woman barfed into the Indian girl's face; he winced and poked his tongue out in sympathizing disgust, ears lowering towards the floor in utter revulsion.

"I do not understand, Robin," Starfire stated, poking her beau's arm when he turned green. "Why is the undead apparition excreting her inner stomach fluids on the young woman's face? Is it similar to what Tamaranian's do during the Globnarf?"

"I don't know, Star," the Boy Wonder groaned, hiccuping as he tried not to puke. "This movie is out of my league."

The second Cyborg opened his mouth to add his own comment, the infirmary alarm went off and everyone froze with frightened expressions on their faces: this was the fifth time it had happened. Robin instantly stopped the movie and got up.

"Yo, the Harmony Twins are in some serious trouble!" Cyborg exclaimed as he looked at his scanner, jumping to his feet with an alarmed expression. "Their heart rates just went up three times the norm in a span of ten seconds! We gotta bolt!"

"What?!" Robin cried, leaping upright as well. "I thought Raven was in there with them!"

"She _is,_ man!" Cyborg shouted, eyes going wide before he sprinted toward the infirmary; the others instantly jumped up followed him there, faces tense with worry: when they reached the infirmary, the Titans saw that Raven was still sitting dead-still with her hand over Patty's forehead. According to the monitor, the hearts of both twins were beating way too fast.

"We need Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, bolting over to the empath and shaking her shoulders; the moment he touched her, Raven came back with a startled jolt and opened her eyes. When she saw Beast Boy staring right at her with worried eyes, she blinked and quickly stood up as the alert from the monitors caught her attention. She immediately held her hands over Percy's forehead and channeled her healing power the way she had done so many times before.

However, Persephone and Patrokalos woke up at the same time, electric blue eyes flying open wide: a burning blue light instantly traced itself out on both of their pale faces, spiraling over their fair skin like a shining tribal tattoo. Raven flinched and abruptly backed away into the wall, heart palpitating violently as the slightly-familiar symbols burned across their bodies: their angelic birthmarks were so similar to her own birthmarks that it had brought back some unpleasant memories... plus, she hadn't exactly been expecting to see them appear like that. The twins sat up so quickly that the Titans gasped.

"TERRA!" Percy and Patty roared at the same, expressions utterly livid; the blonde girl, to say the least, was alarmed.

"Uh, yeah?" she asked, blinking at the two of them.

"You don't remember us, do you?" the twins demanded simultaneously, red eyes flinty with rage.

"R-remember you?" Terra stammered, blue eyes going wide with confusion. "No, I really don't think I do…"

The twins let their phoenix-colored wings explode and Terra's blue eyes widened in horror.

"Does this refresh your memory, big sister?" the twins hissed in sync, feral expressions mirroring each other. "Terrahalia?"

"Per-per?!" Terra whispered, eyes blank with horror as she took in the faces of her younger siblings. "Pat-pat?!"

"You called us that once, didn't you?" the twins said with crushed expression that soon became warped with hatred: the twins swung their scarred legs over the side of the bed and stood up, simultaneously advancing toward Terra. When the older blonde jumped and tried to back away, Persephone vanished from sight and reappeared behind her so quickly that the Titans didn't even see it when she tackled Terra to the ground and pinned her there on her back.

The older blonde girl's large blue eyes went wide when Persephone gripped her shoulders, clutching them so tightly that it began to hurt: Patrokalos stood with his arms hanging limply at his sides, watching with a twisted expression of rage as his twin began to cry and repeatedly began to slam their older sister's shoulders into the ground.

He wanted to join in, but this was his twin's time to be angry with Terra.

"You betrayed us to Slade to save yourself!" Persephone shrieked, tears dripping onto Terra's face. "It's because of you that everyone we eve got close to was killed! It's because of you that we were locked up and tortured for five years! Why did you do that to us, Terra?! We were supposed to be a family! You were supposed to protect the two of us, not hurt us! Why?!"

"I… I just wanted him to leave me alone!" Terra cried in dismay, looking utterly stricken when her younger sister broke down and angrily buried her face against her shoulder: apart from Raven, the Titans were absolutely stunned by what was now occurring in front of them. They had absolutely no idea what was happening.

When Starfire tried stepping forward, feeling afraid for her three blonde friends, Patrokalos unexpectedly appeared in front of her and gave her such a threatening look that she froze and let out a squeak. Starfire abruptly stepped backwards and stood beside Robin for comfort: the boy began absentmindedly rubbing her shoulders. When Persephone drew back and slapped Terra in the face, Beast Boy bristled and was about to move forward to defend her when Raven placed a gentle hand on his shoulder; when he looked over his shoulder and saw the girl shake her head with a warning expression, he obliged without complaining.

At the moment, Patrokalos looked capable of murder.

"I thought Slade was the one who'd killed our chances of ever being happy," Persephone stated, tears sliding down her cheeks with an expression of betrayal so deep it made Terra flinch. "I was wrong, Terrahalia: you're the one who killed it."

"I… I…" Terra stammered frantically, then stopped and closed her eyes before shrieking, "I was scared, Percy! I was scared of myself and my powers, but Slade scared me most of all! I couldn't control myself because of all my fear, and I was hurting people all the time when all I ever really wanted to do was help them! I know I've done terrible things, so get off!"

"EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES!" Persephone shrieked back, leaning in close to her sister's face. "But you know what?! The only people who deserve forgiveness are the ones who earn it! You still haven't said you were sorry for betraying us! You didn't lift a finger when Slade forced you to watch as he murdered everyone we ever got close to! You never told anyone that you couldn't control your powers! You never even tried to really help people, Terra, at least not the people who needed it the _most!_ My brother and I grew up without any form of support, living day by day being tortured in blood and darkness, because _you_ were too cowardly to fend for yourself! Oh, but the lying didn't end _there,_ did it? DID IT?!"

"Persephone," Terra tried to protest, face tightening with anger, "get off of—"

"NO!" the paler blonde screeched, eyes flaring yellow as her hair fanned out. "I won't move until you listen! You betrayed my friends, Terra! O_ur_ friends! You attacked them and tried to _kill_ them, but they forgave you because you _earned_ it: you stopped a volcano from destroying this city because you were the only one who could! You could have run away and abandoned them the same way you abandoned Patrokalos and me! For once, you did the right thing, and _that's_ why they still trust you! Even after everything you put them through, they still trust you! I… I-I don't think I can forgive you right now! Patrokalos might be able to forgive you for everything after this, but I… just… can't. I mean… you went as far as trying to kill the boy you fell in _love_ with… y-you crushed him so completely that I just can't find it in myself to forgive you. For now... I… I-I hate you, Terra..."

Persephone stopped talking, breathing deeply as her reddish-orange wings dissolved and tears slid down her face.

"Percy, you've said more than enough," Patrokalos murmured, throwing Terra a cold glance that made her wince. "She's heard enough to think about how her past actions have affected the two of us… so let her go and let's get out of here, okay?"

"I… I can't… I just can't move anymore, Patty," Persephone mumbled emptily, swaying slightly on top of Terra when her brother suddenly groaned and his knees unexpectedly buckled. "I feel kinda dizzy all of a sudden… and my head hurts…"

Patty clutched his own head and swayed unsteadily on his knees, electric blue eyes eventually sliding closed: he abruptly fell forward onto his stomach and slammed into the ground, utterly unconscious. Terra stared up at Persephone with a tight expression when the younger girl's breathing hitched and she touched her forehead, eyes rolling dizzily before she slid to the side and collapsed toward the ground. Beast Boy caught her before she could crash into the infirmary's equipment, but then he gently lifted her into her bed; once she was settled in again, the changeling turned to Patrokalos and did the same for him.

Then he turned to look at Terra, who's tan face had drained completely of color.

"I think you have some explaining to do," he said quietly.


	10. Chapter 9: Relapse

**Chapter Nine: Relapse**

"You're what?!" Robin shouted, looking completely horrified by what he'd just heard: the other Titans looked just as shocked by the statement, but Raven's violet eyes went utterly blank and she couldn't believe it. The twins… were leaving?

Patty and Percy smiled at the same time, although they both looked like they were about to cry.

"I know we're being selfish, and we're sorry," Persephone whispered sadly, holding back her tears even though she was smiling at the Titans with a determined expression. "I hate having to do this to you guys, but my brother and I are under so much strain that we might not be able to control our powers any longer. Terra and I will never get along like she and my brother are starting to: it's already been two months since I blew up on her, but we've barely even spoken a word to each other since then. Besides… she was here first, so she has more claim to you guys than either of us do."

All five of the Titans began to object: Terra wasn't present at the time… she had gone for a walk.

"You belong with us!" Starfire wailed, waving her hands with a fretting expression. "You can have such a claim, too! Stay, please!"

"Don't do this to us," Persephone whined, covering her face. "This is already hard enough. We have to leave."

"But… where are you going?" Raven asked weakly, violet eyes still blank with incomprehension.

"We want to leave this city," Patrokalos finally broke in, looking down at the pale girl with a sad smile. "Percy and I are going back to the town we grew up in, and then we're going to see the world together. We've been living in darkness for too long."

"Don't go," Raven commanded blankly, making the rest of the titans blink in startled surprise. "Please…?"

"Sorry," Patrokalos stated gently, stepping forward and planting a kiss on her lips; every single one of the Titans froze with expressions of stunned horror when Raven's violet eyes went wide. The moment he pulled away and gave her that goofy little grin of his, she touched her mouth with a shaking hand and three light bulbs, along with a window, exploded in a shower of glass and sparks.

"You're terrible," Raven croaked out, trying to look unaffected even though all of her teammates could tell she was even unhappier with their departure after that: they had lived with her long enough to pick up on the little chinks in her mask. Percy and Patty hugged each of their friends goodbye after that, but when Starfire began to cry, Persephone walked over to the redhead and took her hand in her own. Then she took Robin's hand, ignoring how he twitched, and put them together.

"Promise me this," she said quietly. "Never break up with each other, because you two are meant to be."

They both nodded and said 'Promise' in unison.

"We'll always have our communicators, so if you ever need us, just call," Persephone stated quietly, then turned to look at Beast Boy, who had so far remained silent. "Thank you… so much for everything, and take care of our older sister, please?"

"I'll do my best," Beast Boy stated coldly; Persephone tried to smile but choked as the tears finally escaped.

"Thanks for training with us, Raven," Persephone croaked, looking at the empath when Beast Boy turned away.

"You're welcome," Raven replied blankly. "Call us if you ever need us."

"We love you," the twins stated simultaneously; then, taking each other's hands, the blondes let their angel wings reform in a shower of blue fire before they dove off the edge of Titan's Tower. Their former family stood on the roof, watching as the Harmony Twins flew off into the distance with each other, gently raining their sparkling tears down onto the ocean below.

Somehow, the Titans knew they would never be the same.

**TXXXXXT**

Total silence had fallen over the Tower: when she had come back from her walk to learn that her siblings had fled because of her, Terra had cried and said that she'd felt extremely bad, but an hour later she'd seemed totally unaffected by it. Raven only came out of her room twice a day to eat, Robin and Starfire were spending a lot of time talking quietly with each other since they were intent on keeping their final promise to Percy… and Beast Boy and Cyborg refused to play the Gamestation at risk of breaking Patty's record. The group of vigilantes had left the blondes' rooms untouched in case they ever came back.

The Titans were all hoping that they would.

Three months slowly passed, but the eerie silence had remained heavy on the Tower's inhabitants: Terra had also been disappearing for hours at a time, claiming to be going on walks. The Titans became suspicious when the girl started coming back at later and later times, and quite involuntarily, Patty and Percy's enraged words were beginning to haunt all of them.

"You still want to bring her back even after she betrayed and attacked you?! How do you know she won't do it again?!"

On top of that, all of the Titans were worried sick about Raven: she was much quieter than usual, which was saying something fairly alarming since she hadn't really been talkative in the first place. The twins had somehow brought out the best in her, and now they were seeing a side of Raven that they had never before encountered: she was incredibly _lonely,_ even more so than she had been after the Malchior incident… and that particular time for Raven had been one of the hardest in her entire life.

To the surprise of everyone, Beast Boy was the one who decided to reach out to her… but what surprised the Titans even _more_ was the fact that Raven accepted his actions. The changeling soon became the only person she would talk to, and she eventually began coming out of her room yet again simply to take long walks with him. The Titans soon began seeing a different side of both Raven and Beast Boy: the green teenager was being much more sensitive toward Raven's feelings, and he wasn't simply goofing off all the time whenever it came to her attitude problems. Because of that, Raven was opening up to him a little and actually sniggered at his jokes: they were finally starting to become friends. Robin and Starfire noticed that Terra was becoming increasingly jealous of the two and started taking longer walks of her own. She was becoming very distant with the Titans and it had Robin worried: Slade had been very quiet since his last attempt on the twins' lives. Even though Terra had earned back their trust, she hadn't been acting very trustworthy.

On one particular day, nearly five months after the Harmony Twins had left the Tower, Robin decided that the Titans should see where these walks were leading Terra. They followed her into the city, through the city, and out of the city to the desecrated carnival where she had taken Beast Boy on the night that she had betrayed all of them. The ferris wheel was still and silent, nothing more than a large crack in the ground: Terra had crushed it in an attempt to destroy Slade during one of her unsure moments, but when the girl disappeared into the crevice in the ground, the Titans followed.

It was very dark below the Ferris wheel, but surprisingly enough, there was an entire cavern beneath the old ride.

"Star, Cyborg… give us some light," Robin whispered quietly; when the place was suddenly washed in green and white light, the Titans gasped and every single one of them went pale with horror: they were currently surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of Slade's robots and electronic minions. Directly in front of them was Slade himself… and Terrahalia.

"Gonna forgive me for this one?" Terra asked mockingly.

**TXXXXXT**

Patrokalos and Persephone had been living out their dreams when everything went downhill once again: they had returned to their first home to find that everyone still recognized them. Their old neighbors were very glad to see the twins, and they were utterly amazed by how much they'd grown over the years. Patty and Percy met the closest people they had to a real family, apart from the Titans, and saw the destroyed place that they'd called home, apart from Titans Tower. They two of them spent a long time in that small town, trying to regain pieces of their lost childhood… but neither of them were truly happy, for very similar reasons.

Persephone missed Beast Boy too much, and Patrokalos was mooning over Raven.

After spending a long and wonderful two months in their original home, Persephone and Patrokalos bid everyone goodbye and finally struck out to see the world: the two of them toured Europe for a month, earning lots of interested looks and learning lots of incredible things as they traveled side-by-side, before they started into Asia. The blondes came to their final Asian destination, Japan, about halfway through their fourth month living away from the Teen Titans.

Surprisingly enough, Percy and Patty found that they absolutely loved Japan: Tokyo was an amazing place, but the two of them instantly fell in love with Kyoto: it was beautiful there, and people would randomly come up to them to have a conversation simply because they had striking blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes. They were symbolic foreigners, after all! The twins spent a week there, talking to kids around their own age and even buying a few Japanese school uniforms of their own before they returned to Tokyo.

However, on one particular afternoon, the twins were happily walking through the crowded streets with their latest high school uniforms on when they were both startled half to death by a beeping sound that erupted from their backpacks. The blondes simultaneously looked over their shoulders and paled when they saw a blinking red light: it was the Titan alarm.

The twins were attracting many odd and interested looks, so Patty whipped out his communicator and flicked it open: neither one of them had so much as touched their communicators since they'd left the Tower, so they were horrified when they saw what was on the screen. Robin was completely bruised and battered, standing back-to-back with the other Titans… but at the moment, their friends were surrounded by Slade's robots in such a dark place that neither twin could recognize any substantial shape or form.

"Robin!" Persephone shrieked, clutching her twin brother's arm and attracting more weird stares from the passerby.

"Guys, we really need your help here," the Titan Leader desperately croaked out.

"What—how—where—?!" Patrokalos stammered helplessly, shoulders shaking; Robin was about to reply, but his communicator was knocked clean out of his hands by a glowing yellow rock, and the transmission abruptly cut off.

"TERRA!" Persephone and Patrokalos screeched, eyes flaring neon yellow; people on the street were backing away from them, but when their phoenix-like angel wings exploded from their backs in a blinding spray of fire, many people froze. The twins instantly whirled to the nearest person, an elderly man who was currently standing frozen behind a steam-bun vendor.

"Higashi?" Patrokalos spat, glowing eyes shifting from yellow to a multicolored white.

The alarmed man pointed east.

"Domo Arigatou," Persephone snapped curtly, wasting no time on petty formalities as she and her brother clasped hands and leapt high into the air with a clap of thunder, flying up above the buildings: the twins stopped a moment once they were high above the clouds, looking east with blinding white eyes as their fiery feathers rippled and turned a glossy silvery-white.

"Our family needs us. We must fly faster than we've ever flown before," the twins stated simultaneously. "We must Fly."

Persephone and Patrokalos opened their mouths, drew in a deep breath, and let loose a banshee screech laced with so much raw power that the sky around them trembled: not even a second later, a white glow engulfed their bodies and they shot off towards the east, moving at such a high speed that they created an imploding sonic-boom. The twins were going much faster than they'd ever gone before, so fast that it was putting them in danger, but neither one of them cared any longer.

They had to get there. They had to make it in time. They couldn't lose even one more person that they loved.

_"We must Fly."_

**TXXXXXT**

Robin had finally made the call after being attacked mercilessly by Slade, Terra, and the robot army, but the Boy Wonder honestly didn't understand what was really going through the blonde girl's head. She had completely destroyed Slade, yet she had gone right back to him after only a few short months. She had completely and utterly destroyed Beast Boy, as well: the look on the changeling's face clearly said just how much her second betrayal had crushed him, and it made Robin feel sick.

"Why, Terra?!" the Titan leader cried. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Because you replaced me," she sneered, "and you replaced me with the only two people I never wanted to see again."

There was no chance for retreat now because Slade's robots had caved in the entrance after they'd walked in.

The Titans were losing badly, and there was no way out: their only chance would be if the twins returned, but from what Robin had seen on the scanner, he knew that they were on a completely different continent than America… so his hopes weren't high at all. After only a few minutes, Starfire's arm had been broken in half and the alien had been given a large cut on her side; Raven had merely sprained her ankle, but she had been hit so hard in the head by a stone that she was now having trouble staying conscious; Robin had suffered many cuts and bruises from his battle with Slade, but he was standing protectively in front of Starfire and refused to let himself collapse; Cyborg's power cell had been drained by an electric outburst from one of the robots; and Beast Boy's leg was broken, his wrist was crushed, and his face sported several cuts made from Terra's rocks.

Things weren't looking up for the five teenagers.

Slade was on the verge of delivering the final order, when a loud grating noise interrupted him and everyone looked up as dirt began pouring from the ceiling: quite abruptly, the earth itself began to tremble and the air around every single one of the fighting combatants vibrated as static electricity made the air hum dangerously. The Teen Titans glanced up in alarm.

"What—?" Slade began to say, but he cut himself off when the entire ceiling exploded skyward in a blinding shockwave of white lightning, and a gale of ferocious wind instantly engulfed the area: every single one of the Titans abruptly hit the ground and covered their heads when they saw the color of the sky above. A massive surge of clouds had moved in, but they were a sickening yellow green and they were frothing like a pot of boiling water left on the stove for too long. The air pressure soon began to deepen and ears popped all over the place: they heard the twister before they saw it, but by that point it was too late.

The Harmony Twins had appeared with the familiar twister surrounding them like a barrier of destruction: simultaneously lifting their hands, the glowing angels shot a strand of light at the Ferris wheel and used it like a whip to throw it into the air. When the colossal machine landed with a thunderous crash on the other side of the carnival, the twins slowly looked down into the crevice in the ground: Raven was guarding the Titans from the objects being thrown around with a telekinetic shield.

Slade and Terra stared up at the blazing twins, who looked as though they had descended clean out of Heaven.

"You have hurt our loved ones for the _last_ time, _Murderers,"_ the twins hissed: before anyone could react, the tornado dissolved and the twins flew toward Slade going at top speed, drawing back their crackling fists as they went. The villain barely had time to widen his steely grey eye before their blazing knuckles landed right in the center of his mask: he was smashed down into the ground so forcefully that there should have been no possible way he could have survived, but unfortunately, he was still breathing after all was said and done. Patrokalos used their momentum to swing Persephone around, who swung her slender legs up and kicked Terra right in the face: their sister went flying sixty yards away before smashing into a steel beam.

Then the twins flipped back into the air and looked around with glowing eyes and silver hair: the Titans were just as surprised as the robots by their appearance, but they were even more stunned by what happened next. With eyes that shone with an ethereal light, the twins stretched their hands out to their injured family and water exploded around their forms.

When it retreated, all of the Titans were soaked to the bone, but somewhat healed and completely re-energized.

"You all get to high ground while we take care of this," the twins stated at the same time, looking down at the Titans with soft expressions on their faces. "We aren't going to lose another person to this twisted madman… or his pathetic apprentice."

The Titans did as the twins commanded and watched from above ground: the glowing blondes were standing in the center of a ring made up of nearly seven thousand robots. However, when one of the androids tried to move, the blondes merely shot a glance at it and it exploded with a crack of thunder before melting into a puddle of metal: Persephone and Patrokalos looked at each other and smirked before lifting their interlocked hand toward the sky, opening their mouths to sing a Song of Wrath.

The battle had begun.

The Titans watched in amazement as Patrokalos and Persephone used powers that they'd never seen before, singing an aggressively beautiful combination of notes as the world around them began to obey their synchronized voices. The twins were combining their song, their powers, and their incredible hand-to-hand skills in flawless harmony: Robots were falling all over the place, this one frozen solid, that one torn apart by a cyclone of wind-blades, another with several vines crushing it's head, the next one with a gout of blue fire exploding over it's form.

The twins showed no sign of tiring: they flipped around each other and kicked twelve lightning bolts at a group of robots with deafening thunderclaps, causing all of the machines to explode in a shower of metal and yellow sparks. Then they twisted around each other and drew the light hovering in the air around their bodies, spinning like a pair of ballet dancers before sending balls of burning light at two robots lingering in opposite directions: the mindless things disintegrated into ashes at the same time in the face of their raw, godlike powers.

"Have you ever seen them like this?" Robin asked, turning to look at Raven. "They're making us look really pathetic."

"No," Raven replied, face utterly blank. "I… I think they've finally gained complete control over their powers."

The twins continued to sing their song of rage, finally letting loose the anger and pain that had been building up inside them for the last ten years. At long last, the battlefield fell silent and seven thousand robots were strewn about the cavern. The twins instantly plopped down on the ground, right in the middle of the decimated robots: they looked more than a little tired. However, when Percy and Patty looked around and saw that Slade was no longer crushed into the ground, the two of them scowled deeply: he had somehow managed to live through their thunder punch and escaped, but Terra was just standing up.

The twins stood up as well, watching their elder sister carefully.

Without even looking up at them, Terra launched herself into the air on a large boulder and turned to face her younger brother and sister: she raised her hands in front of herself and began pelting the two with rocks, but the twins merely lifted their hands and the rocks disintegrated into dust; the useless attack continued for several minutes, and when Terra finally stopped shooting the rocks at them, the twins clasped their hands together and closed their eyes. They took a deep breath as they both calmed their hearts and silently found their center: Raven recognized the technique, for she had taught it to them.

"What're they doing now?" Beast Boy whispered.

"This power takes a lot of concentration," Raven explained, looking at the twins in surprise. "It's extremely difficult to control."

When the eyes of both twins snapped open, they were glowing with a steely silver light, and they instantly raised their palms to shoulder-level, extending their arms toward Terra with no expression whatsoever on their faces: then they lifted their arms toward the sky and looked up, blonde hair billowing around as another twister descended around Terra. The blonde girl, who was still on her hovering rock, was instantly sent flying out of the descending tornado, but by that point the twins were ready to attack.

Persephone and Patrokalos compressed the air below their feet and leapt in front of their elder sister as she was shot out of the cyclone, using the girl's own momentum against her; the twins each grabbed one of Terra's arms and swung her around in a circle before launching her at a wall made of busted steel beams. Terra was also ready, however, and got her legs underneath her before springing off of the wall: the twins touched down on the ground and let go of each other's hands in order to side-step her.

A furious hand-to-hand battle ensued, and it was obvious that the twins' superior speed and reflexes were dominating over the elder blonde girl. The Titans, on the other hand, were having trouble keeping up with what was actually going on in the battle: Percy and Patty were both going way too fast to be quite sure of what was happening.

They knew the battle was over, however, when Terra was thrown against the wall one last time.

When she stood up, she was staring at the twins as though they had seen a ghost.

"I… I did it again…" Terra whispered in disbelief.

"Yeah, you did," Persephone stated coldly as she and her twin brother looked down at her with hate. "How could you?"

"I don't understand," Terra stated hollowly. "Why do I keep doing this to myself? To everyone else?"

It was then that Patrokalos realized that their older sister wasn't truly evil: she had done terrible things, that much was true, but she had been just as misled as they had been. The blonde boy straightened his Japanese school uniform and tightened his ponytail before taking his twin sister's hand and walking over to Terra, bending down and offering the girl his other hand.

Both of his sisters looked at him as though he were crazy.

"Come on, it's just a hand," Patrokalos stated quietly, shooting Percy a look when she opened her mouth to protest; the smaller blonde instantly closed her mouth and blinked before nodding up at her twin brother, silently accepting his decision to help Terra. That was how much she trusted him: only one good look was needed to assure her that everything would be fine. When Percy held out her own hand and they pulled Terra to her feet, to their surprise, she hugged them and burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry for doing everything I did to you!" Terrahalia wailed. "I've hated myself for everything, and I made the two of you suffer because I was too scared to handle my own problems! You were only little kids when I did it… I'm so sorry."

"You finally said it," Persephone whispered, looking up at her sister with tears in her eyes. "I… I… I-I forgive you."

Patrokalos patted his sisters' backs awkwardly when both of them began to cry.

"Uh…" he stated, face turning red as he looked up at the Titans. "Can I get a little help down here, please?"


	11. Chapter 10: Violated

**Chapter Ten: Violated**

Five Titans were lying in the infirmary, one was in his room recharging, one was sitting on a couch as he strummed his new guitar, and the last was on the roof. Persephone was sitting on the edge of Titan's tower, hugging her skinny knees and watching the sun rise as the wind swept through her shoulder-length hair. She was staring blankly ahead of her and looking at the beautiful sunrise, but not really seeing what was in front of her: she had finished helping her injured friends not long ago.

Hit with an unexpected feeling of despair when she thought of just how shattered Beast Boy's wild green eyes had been ten minutes ago, the girl abruptly lowered her head and stood up, shoulders shaking violently. This increasingly-familiar ache sometimes shook her heart up so badly that she had trouble not bursting into tears, but this time they had actually managed to break through.

Seeing the person she'd fallen for beating himself up wasn't a pleasant experience, and it hurt her just to see him so down. As the first glistening tears slid down her face, she walked to the very edge of the roof and looked at the ocean: closing her eyes, she spread her arms and jumped forward, not flying this time. Instead, she dove down, down, down into the water far below.

As she plunged deep beneath the surface of the waves, she felt the world around her go still as her tears were swept away into nothingness. Because of how strongly she was feeling this pain, her electric blue eyes flashed for a moment and she could suddenly see everything, revealing the dark waters before her in a haze of blue light. She slowly looked around and began breathing normally in the frigid sea: she had secretly been dying to explore this bay, but had never found the time… now, because the ocean could hide the fact that she was crying, it seemed as though this would be the perfect time to do so.

The bay, which normally would have been cold and unwelcoming, was pleasantly warm and comfortable when she was upset.

However, after she slowly covered her face and began to cry underwater, she became aware of something.

She wasn't alone beneath these waves, for she could see a shadow that kept darting out of her sight, flitting just beyond her reach. She finally stopped crying and looked around carefully, shoulder-length blonde hair billowing out around her face as her Titan's uniform floated loosely on her body. When she sensed a small burst of movement off to her left, the girl flipped beneath the waves and shot a jet of boiling water in that direction with the strength of a fire hose: she heard a muffled gargle and rushed in the direction of the sound. However, the moment she saw the shadow of a young man, she swam forward like a dolphin and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him up so she could see his face more clearly. He was around her own age, surprisingly enough.

He had long black hair, entrancing black eyes, and something that looked to be a fancy blue wetsuit.

He smiled nervously at her and waved when she frowned at him.

"Who are you and why were you watching me?" Persephone demanded, voice a little garbled by the water.

"_The name's Aqualad,_" the boy replied telepathically, bowing his head since he couldn't actually bow, "_and I guess I was merely watching you out of sheer, insatiable curiosity. I think I'd remember seeing someone so beautiful in Atlantis if she'd been there._"

Persephone let go of his shirt in surprise, so he took the opportunity to put a good few feet of space between them.

"I'm… not from Atlantis," Percy bubbled out quickly, electric blue eyes wide. "I'm just a normal girl."

"_Define normal,_" Aqualad stated, giving her a grin that quickly warned her away.

"Well, aren't you charming," the girl said sarcastically, voice coming out in an oddly Raven-like monotone.

"_Ouch,_" he whistled, still smiling at her. "_Milady sure knows how to burn a guy._"

"Keep trying, Flipper," she gurgled, and turned around.

"_Wait!_" the boy called, easily catching up to her as she doggie-paddled away. "_You're not even a little interested in me?_"

"If I was interested, you'd know," she replied, starting to sound ticked off; unfortunately, the poor guy kept trying.

"_So, where are you headed?_" he asked casually.

"Back home to Titans Tower," Percy said shortly, finally giving up on trying to brush him off.

"_You're a Titan?_" he asked, finally finding something to impress her with. "_So am I!_"

"Really? Congratulations. Bye," she replied, not even sounding mildly interested in his claim as she slowly moved to the surface; after all, she and her brother didn't really know how to swim… and breathing underwater was a power that they could only use when certain emotions were being felt by either one of them. Aqualad, however, chased after her and they both broke the surface at the same time: she glared at him as the tears she'd escaped from started streaming down her cheeks once again. When he took a deep breath to speak, the girl leapt out of the water and let her wings erupt in a spray of fire, hovering about a foot above the ocean and being careful to keep a few feet away from him: she didn't want him looking up her skinny-shorts.

After rapidly spinning around to dry off, she looked down to find that he was staring up at her in surprise .

"Goodbye, Flipper," she stated dully, flapping her phoenix wings and flying back to the roof of the tower: Aqualad slowly sank back below the surface with an impressed look on his face, contemplating several different ways to get Persephone to go out with him. He hadn't really been interested in love until he'd seen her crying beneath the waves like an angel that had somehow fallen into the sea.

Which, unsurprisingly, was exactly what she had turned out to be.

Percy slowly landed on the roof and sat back down, feeling even unhappier than she'd been before.

_For living on the ocean floor, he's pretty shallow,_ she thought, burying her chin in her knees. _The guy sees a pretty face in the ocean and suddenly it's all charm. Why are so many handsome boys players? Why are all the good ones so blind to love? Why is love so complicated?_

Until she'd met Beast Boy, Persephone had never really been all that interested in boys since she'd always had Patrokalos standing beside her: he had been helping her and protecting her from the moment she had been born holding his hand. It wasn't as though she had any romantic feelings for her brother… God, yuck! That would be twisted and just plain wrong. No... it was more along the lines that, since she'd always had him there to stand next to her, she'd never really taken the time to notice other boys in a romantic sort of way. There'd been no need to even _try_ noticing them since Patty had been there from day one and already understood everything about her: she hadn't realized until much later that her heart was subconsciously growing wistful for something _more_ than that…

Something that hadn't been able to put into words.

That is, not until she'd fallen for Beast Boy.

She knew deep in her heart that she was terrified of confessing to him: there was no possible way that he could ever feel the same way about her, especially since her older sister had already broken his heart twice in a row. As of right then, the boy she'd fallen in love with saw her as nothing more than a good friend… and it would probably remain that way for a long time.

Patrokalos, on the other hand, was having an interesting time with Raven: her twin seemed to be overly happy whenever she saw him sitting next to the empathetic girl, and she'd already perceived that Raven herself was changing around him. It made her feel happy for her brother, yet sad for herself when she considered the future: would a day ever come when she and Patty would leave each other's sides to venture out into the world alone? Would they ever separate and forge their own lives?

Would he abandon her like everyone else, for the sake of his own happiness…?

She wouldn't hold it against him if he did… he had suffered so much that he deserved to be happy, but she couldn't deny that the thought of him leaving her alone someday both scared her and made her feel incredibly sad. They had been through everything together, from the moment they were born… but that was most likely going to come to an end in the near future. Persephone was loved by her friends, and she loved her friends as well, but whenever she saw Robin and Starfire giggling over movies or Patrokalos and Raven going out on walks around the tower, she couldn't help but feel envious of them. She wanted to confess to Beast Boy about how she really felt, but she already knew that he would reject her… and it scared her to death.

"Is everything okay?" a voice asked from behind her, making the blonde girl jump about a foot in the air; Percy whipped around and looked over her shoulder with her hands raised fearfully, but the girl relaxed when she saw that it was only Robin.

"Don't do that to me!" Persephone whined, catching her breath. "We were... abused, remember? I'm still a really jumpy girl!"

"Raven did mention your memories," he sheepishly admitted. "How come you're up here by yourself, though?"

"Because Aqualad can't fly," Percy glumly retorted, returning to staring off into space

"What?" Robin asked, blinking at her in genuine surprise.

"I was kidding," the girl scoffed; when she recounted her little conversation with Aqualad, Robin laughed at her.

"Well… he's a nice guy," the Titan leader said frankly, giving her a pointed look.

"I can play matchmaker, Robin," Persephone stated, raising an eyebrow, "but you really can't since you don't understand me well enough. No offense."

"Forget I said anything, then," he replied, smiling at her yet again: the blonde girl lapsed into silence, looking up at Robin with thoughtful blue eyes when he turned to admire the sunrise. She could understand why Starfire was so taken with him, what with his gentlemanly personality, that incredible determination, and the passion he always had for his friends' safety.

"So, how are you doing?" Percy asked gently, looking up at him with a sad expression.

"I'm a lot better off than the others were," the boy stated, sounding guilty.

"I'm going to go check on them, then, if you don't mind," she replied.

"I don't mind at all," Robin stated, shaking his head as they both stood up.

"What, are you coming with me?" the girl asked, looking up at him in pleasant surprise.

"No," he sighed, rubbing a hand over his mask, "I'm going to go to the gym and—"

"Oh, no you don't!" Persephone instantly scolded, smacking his shoulder and glaring when he winced in pain. "See? You need to rest, so go watch some TV or something and relax for a bit. I don't want to have to mop you off the floor of the gym."

When he shrugged resignedly, Percy beamed and walked down the stairs, Robin coming shortly after her.

However, the blonde girl froze when she saw her older sister standing in the hall, waiting for her.

"I'm leaving," Terrahalia stated sadly, giving Persephone a solemn smile.

**TXXXXXT**

Only three days later, the Titans were standing out in front of the tower and watched as two blonde girls argued.

"No, seriously! It's not because of you, Percy, I just want to travel the world again! I want to clear my head and think about how to stop Slade if he tries coming after me again!" Terra exclaimed before smiling at the seven Titans assembled in front of the Tower to bid her goodbye. "I haven't given you guys much reason to trust me anymore, so I'm going to try the solo-hero thing now that I have at least some control over my abilities. Since you'll be taking care of my little brother and sister, I promise that I'll come back someday."

"Well, if you're sure, Patty and I won't stop you," Percy whined, sounding as though she really did want to stop her.

"You'll always be welcome here," Robin stated gently.

"You'd better take care of yourself, Big Sis," Patrokalos muttered, looking down at her with a frown. "Oh, right, and just because you're _older_ than me doesn't mean that you're a stronger angel: I'm a male, I'll have you remember, so I can beat you hands down!"

"Yeah, and you're _also_ a sexist," Percy whispered sarcastically, elbowing him in the ribs when Terra giggled in amusement. They all said their goodbyes and watched as Terra left with heavy hearts. The twins and had finally managed to patch up their relationship with their older sister, but Terrahalia had become restless: she needed to get away from the city now, just as the twins had.

"Don't worry, Percy… it's not your fault," Cyborg said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah… but I'm still sorry to see her go," the girl emptily replied, staring off into space as the wind twisted through her shoulder-length blonde hair. The Tower was quiet again for a while, but Terra started to email them every few days, so they didn't feel so detached from her anymore. Even though Robin was worried about Slade, he didn't dive into his usual seclusion the way he used to do all the time. On top of that, Patty and Raven were spending a lot more time together than they used to.

The girl's matchmaker senses started to kick up, but since it was Raven and Patty, she decided to give them space.

However, she was completely alone since Beast Boy was still being fairly cold towards her, and now when she wanted to find a place to cry, she couldn't even use the ocean as a balm. You see, whenever she got near the water's edge, Aqualad would pop up out of nowhere and try to sweet talk her again. The last time he'd tried, the girl had ended up grabbing him by the hair and throwing him into the water for calling her a babe, and she'd carefully begun avoid the shore after that incident.

Soon after she began locking herself in the kitchen at three in the morning, simply to cry her eyes out, Percy repeatedly found herself waking up in the middle of the night after having a strange dream that she couldn't remember. She would be sweating and shaking violently, and she always had a bizarre feeling that she didn't quite understand. She'd never encountered a feeling quite like this before: it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, but her stomach didn't exactly agree with it at all, either.

Percy went to Raven's room one evening to ask for some advice, but before she even got to the door, Raven walked out and glided right past her: the pale girl hadn't even noticed that Persephone was standing there, which was so strange of an occurrence that the blonde stopped dead and watched her go with stunned blue eyes.

"Where's she's going?" Persephone wondered to herself, running a hand through her shoulder-length blonde hair: it was nine o' clock at night and darkness had fallen outside, but Raven was usually meditating around this time. Feeling absolutely baffled by the rare change in schedule, Percy followed her and watched the hooded girl from the common room windows. That's when she saw her brother sitting next to the ocean, staring out at the dark water: Raven slowly walked to where he was sitting and plopped down on the rocks beside him, and they started talking to each other. However, as the blonde girl watched from the Tower, her blue eyes widened slightly and she clapped a hand over her mouth in pleasant surprise when Raven and Patty's lips met.

She sighed happily and slowly walked away from the windows, deciding to talk to Raven later.

Her weird dreams could wait… Patty's happiness was something that she always put first.

**TXXXXXT**

Raven had been sensing how Patrokalos's anxiety had grown over the last few days, but until that moment, the girl hadn't really known how to help with the situation. For starters, she didn't know what he was worried about since emotions only told her limited things about the person she was getting a reading from. This was why she was slowly walking towards the blonde.

"Hey," Raven said quietly as she neared him, but he didn't turn around.

"Hi," the blonde boy replied, not lifting his head from his knees; Raven sighed and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry," the girl murmured.

"For what?" Patrokalos asked, obviously surprised, but still not enough to turn around.

"About Terra," Raven replied, sounding more depressed than usual. "I… know how much your sisters mean to you."

When Patrokalos remained silent, Raven put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Just remember that we're here for you…" she paused for a moment and looked down. "I'm here for you."

He was still silent, but this time it was because he was surprised: lifting his arm, the boy reached up and clasped her pale hand in his own. It was only then that Raven realized how very big and warm his hand was compared to hers: she instantly pulled away and tried to stand up, but Patrokalos quickly turned around and looked up her with wide, vulnerable blue eyes.

"Please, don't leave!" the blonde protested; when Raven hesitantly sat back down next to him, they lapsed into silence.

"Raven, I'm sorry, too," Patrokalos mumbled sadly. "I'm just like Beast Boy: all I ever do is bother you."

"Don't be sorry for that," Raven muttered, shaking her head with a deep-set scowl. "You act like that because you want to get close to me in a romantic manner; he acts like that because he doesn't like seeing the people he cares about feel sad or alone. Quite honestly, I never let anyone get close to me because I don't want to get hurt, regardless of intent… but if you ever tell anyone I just said that, I'll kill you."

"You've seen my memories," Patrokalos stated quietly, looking out at the dark ocean with haunted eyes. "You've seen the pain that someone can experience if they ever let someone get too close to them. Something terrible could happen to the one person you let yourself care about and they could be taken away… or they could even use your feelings against you."

"True," Raven stated with a frown, looking at him in dismay, "but your memories aren't…"

"I know," Patty said gently, looking at her with a sad smile, "but I want you to know this: I could never hurt someone I love, Raven, not after feeling that same hurt for myself… over, and over, and over again. I want you to know that I understand your feelings of not wanting to get hurt: my heart can't take another crack, or it'll break for good. But most of all, I simply want you to know that I'd never hurt you, as a person, because I'm not that kind of guy."

The moment he said it, she knew it was true: regardless of his cheerful disposition or his cheesy smile, the boy sitting in front of her was someone who had actually _experienced_ the pain she was so afraid of… even worse, he had experienced it numerous times at the hand of his own sister, Terra. She knew he wasn't the type of person who could hurt her like that... she had known it from the start.

Raven finally looked into those haunted, vulnerable, and utterly _handsome_ electric blue eyes… and smiled.

"I know…" she whispered gently, and before they knew it, they were leaning toward each other.

**TXXXXXT**

Even though Persephone thought it was totally adorable that Raven and her brother had shared a 'moment', it immediately became apparent that they weren't yup for a relationship like Robin and Starfire since things went back to normal between them the day afterwards. Persephone thought her brother was a lucky guy, since the weird recurring dream was apparently affecting her alone: because of that, her emotions were at their limits. The blonde girl became abnormally quiet, preferring time alone to think as opposed to being in the thick of things with her friends: needless to say, the Titans were taking notice.

About a week after Raven and Patty's 'confrontation', Raven looked into Percy's room at about two in the afternoon: the girl had missed out on cooking her usual tofu-based lunch for Beast Boy, and Persephone barely ever passed up a chance to make some tofu. Raven saw the Titan meditating in the center of her room with a mirror resting on the floor in front of her. Raven had given both Percy and Patty an individual mirror for Christmas, which had passed by a few months ago, but they weren't ordinary mirrors at all: they were very special mirrors meant for meditation, and they allowed both blondes to enter each of their individual minds without having to re-experience the pain their twisted memories had caused in the past.

Raven actually had a similar one that Beast Boy and Cyborg had once stumbled upon by accident.

The hooded girl slowly approached Persephone, wondering if she was near consciousness, but when Raven looked down at the mirror she saw that it was glowing slightly, and there was no reflection in the glass. In fact, it resembled the surface of a lake, no doubt the lake resting in the center of the twins' joined mind: Raven finally concluded that Percy was deep in meditation, so she left the room and closed the door behind her. Raven had been absolutely correct in assuming that Persephone was nowhere near the conscious world: she had been about to head over to the kitchen to make Beast Boy some lunch when she'd had a vision.

Neither Persephone nor Patrokalos had ever endured a vision before, but the girl knew exactly what it was because Raven had explained the concept to her and her brother. In the vision, she had seen herself approaching a young man she didn't recognize: he was entirely in shadow except for the mask over his eyes. Percy's first thought was that it was Robin, since the mask was nearly identical, but the boy she was looking at was actually a bit shorter than her leader. She watched as her vision-self stopped in front of the much-taller boy, and then the vision ended just as suddenly as it had begun. She didn't know how, but Persephone was positive that was from her dream, so she sat down with her mirror and began to meditate.

When the girl opened her eyes and found herself in the familiar lakeside forest of her mind, she turned around and saw the door leading to the Angel of Wrath. She turned again and flew out to the center of the lake, hovering cross-legged just a few feet above the surface: she held a hand over the water, eyes closed. A soft golden light shone from the bottom of the lake before the vision played across the water, almost like a television screen.

Percy watched it carefully, searching for any clues… but there was nothing but a masked shadow.

"Since I knew you weren't going to come asking me for help, I decided to take the initiative and help on my own," Patty stated in an annoyed tone from directly in front of her; Percy looked up and saw her twin brother sitting lazily in the air.

"Good to see you, too, Bro," Percy sarcastically replied.

"Sheesh, you're becoming more and more like Raven every day," Patty commented with a sly smile.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Percy asked, smiling innocently in return.

"It is what it is, Percy," Patrokalos said carelessly, looking uninterestedly at his finger nails. "So, you've finally had the vision of that strange dream we've both been having… and yes, I said _both_ of us: in fact, I've seen the whole thing."

"You've seen my whole dream?!" Persephone squeaked, looking shocked. "Are you keeping secrets again?"

"Come on, I learned my lesson from that one a long, long time ago,," Patty snorted, glancing up at her. "I do know that, when you see this guy from your dream, you won't have to worry because you won't pass out like you did in middle school... but it will be hectic."

"Who is 'this guy'?!" Percy squealed, pulling on her hair in exasperation. "Stop beating around the bush, Patty!"

"If you don't know, I can't tell you," her brother explained, giving her a half-lidded stare of amusement.

"You and Aqualad should hang out sometime," Persephone said sourly.

"Why?" Patrokalos asked, blinking at her in surprise for several moments.

"Because you're both very good at annoying me!" the girl retorted, sticking her tongue out when he laughed.

"You'd actually put _me,_ your _twin,_ on _his_ level?" Patty scoffed at her, blue eyes bright with mirth. "Percy, I actually have a fairly good reason to keep this kind of thing from you, but that Aqualoser guy is just a pathetic player who can't take no for an answer."

"I never would have guessed," Persephone cooed sarcastically, "but what might this reason be?"

"They call them premonitions for a _reason,_ Percy," Patrokalos warned, eying his twin with worried blue eyes. "It'll happen to you eventually in person, so if you're patient enough… you'll find out. However, messing with your own future is a sticky business."

"How do you know all this stuff?!" Persephone cried, flailing her arms in the air. "Did Raven teach you all this?!"

"Uh, it's common knowledge, sis," Patty stated simply, furrowing his brows in confusion. "However, not only am I your twin brother, I'm also your Conscience, just like you are my Conscience… oh, and if you crack even _one_ Jimmany Cricket joke, this entire forest will be Mount Saint Helen's all over again. Mark my words, sister, because I mean it with everything I have."

"You're my Conscience?" Persephone laughed, rolling her eyes. "Wow, you learn something new every day."

"So, any more questions or can we go make ourselves some lunch in the kitchen?" Patty asked, grinning when his twin sister cheered up a bit and smiled a little. "I know for a fact that Beeeeast Boy was wondering why you hadn't made any tooooofu."

"Yeah," Percy murmured, then blurted, "what the heck is this weird feeling that keeps turning my stomach upside down?!"

"Uh… that's actually something even I don't understand completely," Patrokalos stated uneasily, rubbing his belly. "I think you'll have to discover the truth yourself on this one, since I'm pretty sure this is a situation that mostly concerns you. I hope I was able to give you some help, but I'm really hungry now so I'm gonna make like a banana and split. See ya in the kitchens!"

With that, her brother disappeared in a flash of light.

Persephone sighed, letting her fingertips drift over the water as the image disappeared; after a moment, the girl flew back to the edge of the lake and approached the disembodied doorway. Closing her eyes, she placed her palm flat against the frame and felt a surge of power from the other side: the doorknob glimmered green for a moment, then returned to normal. Percy let out a sigh, pondering the clues she had just been given as she slowly woke up from the recesses of her mind.

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone's dreams continued for another week, but she stopped bugging her brother about it and decided against asking Raven for any sort of advice: the girl had finally decided that it was a personal problem was trying to solve it herself. Aside from that, crime in the city was at an all time low, Slade seemed to have disappeared, and Terra was keeping in contact with the Titans for the sake of her siblings. Everyone in the tower was happy… except for Persephone, who was merely pretending to be happy when everyone was around. Overall, the team was finally beginning to relax when the next big problem reared its ugly head.

It was a beautiful day in Jump City, and the Titans had decided to go out for pizza. They'd figured that nothing could have spoiled their good moods, but when they returned to the Tower, something terrible actually did.

Robin's safe had been broken into.

"What was in the safe?" Cyborg asked as he searched for finger prints; Robin was leaning against the wall.

"Red X's belt," he sighed, looking at them hollowly; the Titans all stopped what they were doing and stared at him, but Percy and Patty merely looked at their friends in total confusion. They'd never heard the name until that particular moment.

"Who's Red X?" Patrokalos asked, looking thoroughly confused. However, not even a second later the alarm went off: the Titans raced to the main room and saw a robbery report on the news, and Persephone blinked when she saw that someone was pilfering through an old warehouse at pier thirty-five in the headline. A security camera feed came up on the big screen.

"That's Red X," Robin stated, looking at the screen. "Titans, go!"

Persephone took one last look at the black-clad figure tearing through the old crates before she followed her brother and the rest of the Titans out of the Tower: Starfire told the twins the story of Red X as they flew toward the pier.

"So, he saved Robin?" Patty asked, looking even more confused.

"Yes," Starfire replied, looking down at the boy. "None of us are entirely sure why, except for perhaps Robin."

The Titans stopped outside the large doors of pier thirty-five: Robin had told the twins they would have a big advantage over Red X since there was nothing in his arsenal made to take them down. He explained that he'd created the suit with the weaknesses of his teammates as guidelines, but since they hadn't been on the team then, the two of them were safe.

For some reason, neither blonde was comforted by this information.

Cyborg blasted the door in with his sonic cannon and it clanged to the floor in the center of the warehouse: the Titans didn't see anyone inside, however, so Cyborg was about to use his thermal sensors when they heard a voice.

"Titans, eh? I figured you'd show up at some point," Red X stated in an eerie voice as he slowly became visible.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted; the Titans leapt forward, but Red X flipped around to the right. Persephone and Patrokalos were the only two who still hadn't charged: they had both decided to wait for their opportunity, and it came the moment Red X had dodged the rest of their team. Clasping each other's hands, the twins exploded forward with the help of some compressed air and Patty swung Percy around like a doll, sending her flying fast enough to throw a fierce kick at him; however, when the villain caught her slender ankle and spun around to keep up the momentum, the blonde girl shrieked and covered her face, expecting him to throw her at something.

However, he merely slowed down and simply dropped her, eyes moving from her scarred leg and straight up to her pale face.

"Well… what have we here?" he asked smoothly, narrowing his eyes. "A new Titan, and a _pretty_ one at that."

Persephone growled in response and scissor-kicked her legs, sweeping his feet out from under him and sending him sprawling out on to the ground; however, he stood up quickly and winked at her before dodging blows from her enraged twin brother and the rest of their team. Percy, however, merely stared at him with her mouth hanging open.

A villain was _flirting_ with her? Oh, _hell_ to the freaking _no!_

Jumping forward and clasping Patty's hand, the twins instantly flipped around and turned on their headphones, allowing their angry mental music to break free before called upon the elements with their voices: the moment the two of them began to sing and the world around them fell under their control, Red X froze and looked at them with a surprised expression.

"Musical powers… interesting," he muttered to himself with a slight smirk. "Even more so since you have a _twin brother."_

The Titans were falling one by one at the hands of the same old tricks: Beast Boy was fastened to a support beam with a sticky rubber X, Cyborg's system was crashed by the hacking device, Starfire's arms were pinned behind her and her ankles were bound, Robin fell the exact same way as Starfire, and Raven, much to her anger, got a sticky red X over her mouth.

Soon only the twins were left, and they both watched Red X as they fought him.

Then Patrokalos was imprisoned by an X, and Percy flew into a rage.

"I'll give you some credit: you have to have some _damned_ good reflexes if you actually managed to catch my sister right out of the air and imprisoned me here with the rest of our team," Patrokalos growled dangerously, blue eyes flashing with rage as Persephone hurled numerous fireballs and lightning bolts at him; the girl was obviously furious now, "but don't expect that to last very long."

"Compliments from the brother already? You're making me blush!" Red X asked, flipping through a doorway in the back of the warehouse. "Man, babe, I think you and your family are moving a little too fast for me to handle… see ya later, okay?"

"Percy, go after him! We'll get there as soon as we can," Robin shouted; Percy glanced uneasily at her brother, but when he met her eyes and nodded, the girl took off after Red X without faltering. She knew her brother believed in her, and Robin had been absolutely right; aside from the sticky 'X's he had nothing to use specifically against her. Persephone skidded to a rapid halt when she entered the next room: it was pitch black except for one light shining in the center. Red X was standing under that light.

Percy took a cautious step into the room, but the door slammed behind her and she spun around in terror.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Red X said clearly.

Persephone slowly turned back and stared at Red X with barely masked fear in her large blue eyes: she didn't know why, but she didn't seem to have any harsh feelings toward this particular villain. After all, the way Starfire had described it, he was nothing more than a petty thief with some not-so-petty toys: from what she'd heard, she might be able to convince him to stop.

"Yeah, fancy that," Persephone replied emotionlessly. "Now, um, are you going to come quietly?"

"Your name's Percy, right?" Red X laughed. "That's what Robin called you, anyway."

"Yes," Persephone stated, eying him with a wary expression. "Why do you ask?"

"I've taken a liking to you, Percy," he slyly explained, looking her up and down in a way that made her shiver, "So, I'm going to give an amazing privilege and let you see who I really am: I'm going to take off my mask."

"What…?" Percy deadpanned, not quite believing what she was hearing. He remained silent as he reached for the bottom of his skull-like mask: however, as he began to pull it off, he stepped backward out of the light. He removed his mask right when she could no longer see his face, and all she could see was an eye mask… a mask that looked just like Robin's.

_It's him…_ the girl realized as the world dissolved with a rushing noise. _He's the boy from my dream…_

"That's not very fair, now is it?" Persephone asked, vainly trying to keep the shock from her voice.

"If you want to see my face, come here and take a good look at it," the boy stated, voice much different now that he wasn't wearing the mask. It didn't sound like Robin's voice at all, which Percy was very relieved to hear: it was much deeper, a little quieter, and it held much less emotion than her leader's. Persephone D'Andesyrius slowly began to walk forward as sound crackled out of her speakers: she had to be cautious, but for some reason, she didn't feel like this man was going to hurt her.

Persephone slowly stepped into the light dangling in the center of the room, illuminating her reddish-blonde hair and her black-and-yellow schoolgirl-like Titan uniform. When she was barely a foot away from him, she stopped for a moment, wondering whether she should trust him enough to get this close: he answered by leaning into the light and kissing her.

Persephone froze like a statue and her crystal blue eyes widened in horrified shock: she felt as though her mind had shut down with horror, and Beast Boy's face instantly flashed into her mind. She had locked up so badly that she couldn't even pull away: she had never been kissed before, yet this strange man had just stolen her first… and somehow, it just managed to crush her beyond repair, since this was something she'd always dreamed about sharing with her true love someday.

Tears abruptly filled her electric blue eyes as the man kissed her frozen mouth, and when he pulled away, he smiled when he saw that she was numb with shock. He smiled even broader when the tears slid down her cheeks: she could see that he had brown hair and was pretty handsome, even with his mask on, but when she opened her mouth to scream at him, nothing came out.

He smiled again and bowed, mockingly kissing her hand when her face screwed up with pain.

"It was nice to meet you, Percy," he said, grinning when she jerked away and tearfully wiped at her mouth.

"Why did you _do_ that to me?!" she shrieked, lunging at him with her fists flailing blindly. "You stole my last happiness!"

He dodged around her as she tearfully fought to hit him, so distraught that she didn't even think of using her powers. After a few triumphant moments of laughing at her flailing, he slipped under her flailing arms and punched her right in the middle of the stomach: Percy's blue eyes flew open wide and she doubled over as the wind was knocked out of her, but only a second later she felt a sharp rap on the back of her neck and the girl tumbled to the floor in a heap as her entire body went numb.

Still, she struggled to get back up, tears streaming from her clear blue eyes.

"I'll see you around, blondie," he said mysteriously as he replaced his mask and disappeared into the darkness.

"You bastard!" Persephone whispered, silently letting her tears flow when she realized that she'd failed her team and lost something precious to her. The other Titans burst into the room soon afterwards, but when they saw her lying in the middle of the room beneath the light, they all bolted over to her: Patty cradled her in his arms, looking down at her face with worry.

"Um, where is he?" Robin asked, feeling unnerved by the expressionless look on Percy's tear-stained face.

"He… got away," the girl said vaguely, mouth twitching as more tears slid down.

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, although he didn't feel very angry: he was more worried about Percy since the last time he had seen her cry like _this_ was when they'd first met each other. The rest of the Titans were thinking the same thing: Raven tried to figure it out, but Patty was blocking her out, so Raven figured the girl was just upset since she had failed.

How very wrong she was.

Patrokalos had known the instant he'd touched his sibling what had transpired, and he'd known that Raven would try to contact her mind to see why she was acting like this… but this wasn't the sort of thing that could be pried into, and he figured his twin would tell the Titans about her stolen first kiss when she was ready. The blonde boy was constantly worrying about his sister's well-being, and he had always been watching over her… even when it was simply from the sidelines.

"Yeah… I'm sure…" Persephone whispered, burying her face in her brother's lap as she began to sob.

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone D'Andesyrius was silent for the next few days: she wasn't just being her usual quiet self anymore… she hadn't spoken a single word to anyone since her encounter with Red X, not even her twin brother, and it had everyone in the Tower feeling so worried that she felt a bit guilty. After a while, the girl somehow managed to convince herself that she was an idiot and that he hadn't stolen her first true kiss: he had only kissed her to get her to let him go, and it had worked like a charm. She decided against telling the others, knowing it would just get her into trouble, but still... it was difficult to stop the increasingly familiar ache.

She loved Beast Boy, but another man had kissed her: she felt as though she had betrayed the changeling somehow.

Persephone had shut herself in her room the moment they returned from pier thirty-five and hadn't come out while the others were around since that time. She was spending nearly every waking moment meditating, trying to smooth the whole experience over and forget about it, but nor her mind or her heart would let the experience go, so she finally accepted it. After her extended period of silence, Persephone rejoined her friends and went back to being her cheerful self. They didn't press her about it, although she did still lapse into silence occasionally and had a tendency to stare out the nearest window for a while. Nothing much happened for a while, save for a tricky situation with Mumbo Jumbo, but it didn't take long to sort out.

Persephone was finally getting back into her normal rhythm when an unfortunate confrontation occurred.

The girl was sitting in her room, alternating between reading a book and staring out the windows to watch the sunset, when who should fly past her window but Red X: he was headed for the roof. Persephone stared out the window for a fraction of a second before jumping to her feet and slamming her door open, face twisted with rage and unbridled hatred. She flew right past her brother, who jumped and dropped the banana yogurt he'd been eating, before speeding past the other Titans' rooms at such a high speed that it was impossible for them to not notice her thudding footsteps. Robin and Raven poked their heads out of their doors and looked at each other, but Raven simply shrugged and retreated back into her room after taking a look at a sadly pathetic Patrokalos, who was pouting over his ruined cup of yogurt. Robin, similarly, decided to retreat into his room.

Persephone kicked open the door to the roof and saw Red X standing there: he looked like he was admiring the way the ribbons on her uniform fluttered in the heavy wind, but he smirked when her shoulder-length hair gleamed like molten gold.

"Hey there, Percy," Red X stated slyly when she stared at him coldly.

"Thanks for coming right to me," the girl hissed venomously, shoulders shaking. "Now I can finally kick your ass."

"Didn't that kiss mean anything to you?" Red X asked with mock tearfulness, putting his hand to his mouth.

"Why don't you come over here and try it again?" Persephone replied angrily. "That way I can rip your nasty tongue out."

"I see… so you saw past the ploy," he sighed. "Too bad: if you weren't so clever, I could have made good use of you."

"I guess I was wrong… you're much worse than a petty thief: you're a petty thief with a much-too-big ego," Percy hissed violently, blonde hair fanning out as her entire body sparked with power. "I'll ask you again: are you going to come quietly?"

"Does anyone?" he inquired mockingly, and that was the last straw: Persephone's eyes and hands blazed with blinding light, but she didn't even waste her energy by moving closer. She just let loose with a barrage of lightning balls from the door: he dodged them deftly and threw some x blades at her, which she caught between her fingers and melted; he swallowed and shivered a little when she tossed the melted weapons over her shoulder with a murderous look in her glowing yellow eyes.

Whipping her hand up to her headphones, the girl flicked them on and sang three loud notes that gathered in pitch: her body shone bright blue for only a moment before the air imploded and she flew at him with a speed she had never been able to reach without her brother beside her. Flipping like an acrobat, the girl swung her foot at him with a shriek: he side-stepped and threw a kick toward her back, which she blocked well enough to perform a hand-to-hand continued, but it was soon becoming obvious that they were evenly matched whenever he managed to block her powers: Persephone's elbow finally made contact with his stomach, though, and he flew ten feet before sliding to a stop right next to the edge of the roof.

The girl instantly propelled herself over to him and planted one boot-clad foot on his chest, looking down at him with fury in her crystal blue eyes. He became quite still, breathing deeply and she felt his muscles tense as he prepared to throw her off of him: responding to the way his muscles moved, the girl lifted her foot a few inches then smashed it back down with enough force to knock over a bus. He gagged as his back was smashed hard against the roof, and the concrete beneath him cracked.

The attack had probably been heard for miles, considering it shook the entire tower.

"No broken bones, I hope?" Persephone asked innocently; his eyes narrowed and he grabbed her ankle, but she laughed.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's not nice to put your hands on a woman without her permission?" Persephone asked lightly, doing a back-flip and bringing him crashing to the ground right behind her. He instantly gasped as he was smashed into the concrete a second time, finding himself unable to breathe at all because of how hard she'd slammed him.

"DAMMIT!" Red X wheezed.

"Darn, I repeated a performance," Persephone whined with mock shame, grabbing X by the front of his shirt and lifting him off the ground. She brought him to her eye level, his feet dangling a few inches from the roof. "I'll never forgive myself."

At that moment, the door swung open and Robin appeared.

"Hey, Persephone, are you okay?! I heard a crash and—!" he gasped at the sight of Red X being suspended in her grip.

"Oh, hello Robin!" Percy cheerfully called, eyes looking utterly enraged. "Look what the cat dragged in!"

She grabbed the front of Red X's mask and pulled it off, revealing the blond hair and eye mask before she tossed him on the roof in front of Robin; then the girl moved forward, placing the mask in Robin's hands as she walked past him.

"What's going on here?" the boy demanded in a squeak.

"He's all yours," the girl called as she walked down the stairs. "Take him to jail before I end up in prison for homicide."

Robin stood in shocked silence for nearly a minute after Persephone had handed Red X to him, but he snapped back to his senses when the villain groaned. Robin had no idea what was going on right now, but that didn't stop him from tying X up and giving him up to the police: he put the mask in the evidence room and locked Red X's belt away, having already fixed his safe.

**TXXXXXT**

"Well, that ended easily enough, didn't it?" Patrokalos asked brightly, looking at his twin with cheerful eyes. Persephone had walked straight into her brother's room after she'd defeated Red X and had immediately plopped down on his bed.

"Yeah…" Percy replied suspiciously, "but I think it was because he was holding back."

"What?" Patrokalos asked, blinking in surprise.

"He wasn't fighting to his full," Persephone replied dully. "He could have beaten me if he had tried."

"What's with you being so gloom and doom?" Patty asked, frowning at her unhappily. "You beat up the guy who violated you and stole your first kiss, end of story. You'll never have to think about him again now… so, why do you sound so upset?"

"Because I keep thinking about how hopeless it is for me to be in love with Beast Boy!" Percy shot back. "The fact that I was kissed by a strange man was bad enough, but in the end I'll never get my fairy-tale ending! My feelings are hopeless!"

"I didn't know you were looking for a fairy-tale ending," Patty hesitantly replied. "Look… you need to talk to someone apart from me; better yet, you need to have some girl-talk. Tell Raven or Starfire: they listen to you just as well as I do."

Persephone nodded and slowly got up, watching as he brother put on his special headphones and turned them on before picking up his sketch-journal: when his mental music began flowing out and he began to hum along, she retreated from her twin brother's room and made her way out into the hall. Percy hesitantly approached Starfire's door and stopped just outside of it, hesitantly looking up and down the hall: the rest of the Titans were still in their bedrooms, apart from Robin, so she took a deep breath and knocked.

Quite honestly, the alien girl's voice came through only a second after the knock.

"One moment please!" Starfire's voice called from within the room. Persephone smiled a little and sighed, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling as a pleasant emotion went through her: Starfire was always happy when there was nothing to be unhappy about, and the redhead's bubbly attitude was extremely contagious.

The door opened seconds later.

"Hello, Percy!" Starfire greeted cheerfully. "Erm… what is up?"

"I… I need to talk to you," Persephone hesitantly replied, "that is, if you're not too busy…"

"I am never too busy to talk to my friends! Please, come in," Star laughed, instantly stepping aside to let the small blonde girl into her bedroom. Percy wasn't particularly fond of talking about uncomfortable things to anyone besides her brother, but Patrokalos had been right when he'd said that she needed some girl-talk. "Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you," Percy murmured, folding her hands as she sat down on the end of Star's bed; the girl sat across from her.

"So, what is it that you wish to talk about?" Starfire asked, unable to keep the curiosity from her voice.

"I… want to tell you something, but you must never tell anyone else, not as long as you live," Persephone whispered, blue eyes filling with tears that she instantly rubbed away. "Especially Robin… he'd get so mad that he'd do something stupid."

"I promise I shall never tell a soul," Starfire stated confidentially, interest becoming sparked by the blonde girl's behavior and tearful statement. Nodding her head, Persephone took a deep breath and told the Tamaranian girl about how strongly she had been feeling for Beast Boy, and about how much his subtle coldness had actually been hurting her. She even went as far as confessing about her nightly trips to the kitchen, and about how she locked herself in there simply so she could cry. Then she explained, in detail, what had happened with Red X… from the kiss, all the way up to the recent capture. Starfire listened intently through the whole story and remained thoughtfully silent until the end, although she was glowing after hearing that the blonde girl had feelings for their green-skinned friend… who had been oddly absent and holed up in his bedroom, as of late.

"I am very, very happy that you trust me so much that you were able to confide in me," Starfire said slowly, looking at the blonde angel after a few minutes, "but I believe that there is someone else you very much need to talk to, Friend Persephone."

"Who?" Percy asked, blinking at her in surprise.

"Beast Boy," Starfire replied seriously; the blonde girl paled and was about to let out a protest, but she stopped.

"You're right," she muttered; they became silent for a while, but then Starfire frowned a little.

"When the villain kissed you… did it hurt badly?" she asked quietly.

"Yes…" Percy sniffled, face screwing up as tears involuntarily sprang to her eyes. "At first, I was stunned… but then I felt dirty, as though he had taken the last clean thing I had to offer away from me. Then I thought of Beast Boy, and it felt as though my heart were being ripped right out of my chest… it hurt so badly, because a man had kissed me, and it wasn't him."

Starfire's eyes filled with sympathetic tears.

"I am sorry," the alien sniffed, rubbing her own eyes. "I did not know the act of kissing could hurt someone so much."

"So, how are things going between you and Robin?" Persephone asked, desperately trying to change the subject; Starfire instantly rolled her eyes, although she couldn't stop herself from beaming.

"I could not be happier," she replied simply.

"Okay," Persephone sniffled, looking the alien straight in the eyes, "so, when Beast Boy rejects me, will you hold me?"

Starfire merely blinked in surprise before earnestly nodding her head.

"I'll be here," she said cheerfully. "I shall hold you tightly and not let go until you wish me to do so."


	12. Chapter 11: Rejection or Acceptance?

**Special Shout out to my first FANS EVER! Kaena Blaise, and Silvishydra! Thank you so much for your encouraging words, and I hope this particular chapter will be just as good as the rest.**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Rejection or Acceptance?**

The next afternoon, the Titans were sitting in the common room doing their own collective activities: Cyborg was happily playing a single-person video game he had bought the other day, Starfire and Robin were sitting in the love seat and watching a chick flick about a naive mermaid named Aquamarine, Raven was sitting on the circular couch and reading a book, Patty was strumming his guitar and humming as he wrote a new song in his music book, and Beast Boy was staring off into space.

Persephone felt her stomach flop unpleasantly when she came out in her pajamas and sat down next to him.

"I…" she stammered, hunching her shoulders when he blinked and looked at her. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Finally come to ask me for some joking tips, little blondie?" the changeling joked, waggling his pointy ears with a half-hearted grin that didn't touch his eyes. "Sheesh, it took you long enough to recognize my awesome talent! I mean, it's so—"

"Seriously," the girl choked out, looking at Starfire for some support; the redhead nodded and flashed her a reassuring grin to let the girl know that she would be waiting after whatever happened. "I need to talk to you about something… in private."

"Uh…" Beast Boy droned, looking utterly baffled when the girl stood up and pulled him out of the room. She led him up to the roof and let go of his hand when they finally made it: the sun was setting in all of its beautiful glory, but she couldn't let herself see it even though she walked to the edge of the tower and stopped. Her shoulders were rigid and her back was stiff.

"Beast Boy," Persephone stated firmly, turning around with tears in her eyes, "I… I l-l… l-l-love you…"

He blinked at her a few times before his mouth began to twitch.

"Really?" he asked stiffly, mouth still twitching.

"Yeah," Persephone whispered, turning her eyes away from him. "Don't ask me why, because it happened at random."

"Obviously!" the changeling guffawed, unexpectedly bursting into a fit of laughter that made her stiffen. "Come on, Percy, that joke was so freaking lame that it ended up being funny! It really looks like you need some tips, and I think I can help."

"I'm not joking!" the girl shrieked, making him jump. "You don't even know how hard it was for me to tell you…"

"Are you still trying to make me laugh?" Beast Boy asked, cocking a disbelieving eyebrow; that was her breaking point. Her face screwed up and her eyes filled with tears that she desperately tried to hide by lowering her head and staring at the ground; the girl whipped around and bolted down the stairs before she could burst into tears… she didn't want him to see it.

The girl somehow ended up outside, wandering along the shoreline as the sun slowly went down.

Persephone didn't return to the Tower after she ran away from Beast Boy: she didn't know where to go. She was confused and she didn't want to think about why her heart now felt as though it was being crushed by a large fist, so she went to the one place she felt like she could be alone: the clouds. She soared up into the sky and let herself drift on the wind for hours.

She returned to the ground completely soaked and freezing, shivering in her pink pajamas.

Starfire, not surprisingly, was waiting for her on the shoreline… but the moment Percy saw her, the blonde stumbled forward and sank into her arms as she began to cry, body shaking all over as the pain she was trying to escape from finally caught up and broke her. The startled alien girl plopped down on her knees and held Persephone as she wailed, rubbing her shaking back and trying her best to cope with the situation she had just found herself in: quite honestly, she had never before seen any of her friends cry, so the experience she was having right now was actually quite unpleasant. She didn't like it when her friends were hurting, but they were all so strong that they could all take care of themselves in private: Percy and Patty, although they looked strong whenever they were together, were actually weak and vulnerable in their own different ways.

The simplest things could hurt them… and in more ways than just one.

"He doesn't love me," the girl bawled, hiccuping as she sobbed over Star's shoulder. "He doesn't… he thought I…"

"Shh," Starfire soothed, floating into the air with the blonde girl cradled in her arms like a child. "Shhh, it'll be all right."

"My heart hurts," Persephone sobbed hoarsely, clutching at Starfire's shirt. "It hurts more than any cut I've ever had…"

"Percy…" Starfire murmured, not really knowing what she could do to help the trembling girl stop hurting so badly.

When the two girls finally returned to the Tower, Persephone had stopped crying, but in turn… she lapsed into a state that even her brother rarely saw: complete and utter depression. Everyone was so surprised by the broken look in her big blue eyes that Raven choked on her tea, Cyborg died in his new fighting game, and Robin's face turned pale with worry: it looked as though she was devoid of all positive emotion, a look that made her look unable to feel any form of happiness. Starfire was the only person who knew about her rejected feelings for Beast Boy, and she knew that the girl's odd behavior was a result of that.

However, she didn't say anything: she kept her promise.

Persephone didn't meditate that night: she simply lay down on her bed and curled up in a little ball, staring at the walls of her bedroom as the pain began to close in around her heart. She couldn't stop thinking about his reaction: he hadn't even been nice enough to simply reject her… he'd acted as though her feelings were a joke, like they were something to laugh at. That part alone was the one thing that had crushed her, and because of that, she couldn't sleep even after several hours had passed.

All of the other Titans were in their beds, though, so she crept out to the main room.

**TXXXXXT**

For some reason, Beast Boy hadn't been able think properly after Percy had confronted him on the roof and fled, and the frustrating feeling continued on until long after everyone had fallen asleep. The boy simply couldn't get the image of her eyes out of his brain: he'd originally thought she'd been joking when she'd confessed her feelings, and he had laughed. It had been the obvious thing to do from his perspective… after all, Percy was Terra's little sister, which in itself was a bad thing: his team would probably have gotten the wrong idea if he acted on his feelings and began dating the blonde girl. Plus, there was no possible way that such a pretty girl she could have loved a goofy weirdo like him, so he'd treated her statements as a joke.

There was no way she could have felt the same way that he had begun to feel… was there?

He'd wanted to figure out the truth, so when she'd started to cry and had run away from the tower, he'd actually followed her around for a while: when she'd finally flown into the air, he'd shifted into the form of a falcon and tailed her, watching as she soared along the clouds; however, when she'd landed again and he'd seen Starfire waiting for her along the shoreline, the changeling hadn't been expecting to witness what he had. The moment she'd looked up, Persephone had burst into tears and run straight into the alien girl's arm, crying her eyes out: that alone was strange, since Percy almost never cried around them.

He figured it had to be an act… something to try and make him feel guilty, or maybe just a ruse in general.

That is… until he'd remembered that the girl hadn't exactly noticed he'd been following her: there would be no point to a ruse if they didn't realize he was present. He had instantly flown back to the Tower, ignoring how they sank down onto the sandy shoreline. It had been hours since then, but he still felt that something was wrong… so he eventually got out of bed with the thought of taking a walk in mind. When he saw that Percy's door was open, he paused: the moment he looked into her room and realized that she wasn't in her bed, he knew where to find her. Since he figured they needed to talk, anyway, the boy walked to the main room and peeked in to find her sitting on the couch and staring out the windows with hollow blue eyes.

She looked the same way she had on her first night at the Tower, which had been nearly a year ago.

"Hey," Beast Boy stated, leaping over the back of the couch and sitting down next to her, "you lied to me earlier."

"Hmm?" Percy asked him, looking a bit dazed; it was almost as though she hadn't noticed he was there.

"You said you loved me," Beast Boy said, crossing his arms, "so why'd you run off like that? You didn't let me talk."

"I was afraid your words… would crush me," the girl stated sadly, looking back out the windows. "I didn't want to break."

"Well, you were really stupid," the changeling snapped, making her flinch and glance at him in surprise. The moment she turned her head, however, Beast Boy gripped her chin and pulled her into a kiss: blue eyes flying open wide as her world melted into a puddle of warmth, she stared at his wild catlike eyes as he kissed her for the first time. His kiss was gentle, but extremely awkward and tentative at the same time… which made her think he was just as new at this as she was. When he pulled away, Beast Boy got his answer about Percy's truest feelings when he saw the expression on her face face.

Her electric blue eyes were wide and sparkling, her cheeks were flushed rosy, and she looked utterly star-struck.

"If you had waited," Beast Boy stated awkwardly, rubbing his neck with an extremely embarrassed blush, "I might have been able to do that earlier. I've had a crush on you for so long now that it's really been bugging me… I think it started a bit before you actually brought Terra back to us. It just hit me one morning, when I saw you sitting out on the beach all alone."

"It hit me the same way," the girl noted in a detached voice as she shakily touched her lips. "Like a brick to the stomach."

"So… uh," Beast Boy stammered, blushing so badly that she stared, "would you… like to go out with an animal?"

"As long as that animal's you," the girl stated with a choked expression.

"All right," he sighed, looking her right in the eyes with a serious expression. "Then… I l-love you, too, Persephone."

And just like that, she burst into happy tears.

**TXXXXXT**

The next morning, Persephone paid another visit to Starfire's room and excitedly explained to the alien what had happened after everyone had gone to sleep: the redhead wore a look of wide-eyed astonishment when the blonde girl finally finished.

"He kissed you?" Starfire squealed excitedly, bouncing up and hovering into the air. "Oh, this is most wondrous!"

"I know, he just bent down and it's like the world dissolved and turned warm!" Percy exclaimed. "It's so hard to believe!"

"I knew… that he had been developing feelings for you," the redhead admitted sheepishly, wincing when the small blonde blinked at her in utter shock and surprise. "He made me vow not to tell anyone, just like you did… so I could not tell you."

"I love him," the blonde girl suddenly murmured, drawing her knees up to her chest, "but he really is… well, uh, wild."

"How so?" Star quipped, looking confused and curious. "Friend Beast Boy seems more… comical than wild."

"Well, for one thing, he confessed that he's always dreamed about nibbling on his girlfriend's ear," Persephone blurted, face turning bright pink when she thought about everything Beast Boy had told her the previous night. He had been very blunt when he'd warned her to be alert around him, since he no longer had a reason not to hug her from behind and nibble on her neck or pointy ears. Apparently it was one of the more... animal-like traits that he'd inherited from his unique blend of human DNA.

"He dreams about eating females like _kitchen snacks?!"_ Starfire squealed in horror. "We must inform Robin!"

"No, no, not like that," Persephone squeaked, face turning beet red. "He… does it softly, so it'll only tickle my ear."

"Oh," Starfire stated blankly. "I did not know that 'The Tickling' could be given by teeth."

"Normally, it can't be," Percy admitted sheepishly, shyly averting her eyes. "Only… couples do things like that."

"So, you are a couple now, yes?" the Tamaranian girl asked, looking utterly hopeful. "You are happy again?"

"I'm as happy as I can be," the angel replied, parroting Starfire's words. "Just looking into his eyes makes me feel safe."

After Persephone left her room, Starfire ended up thinking of the girl's last statement for the rest of the day: she had never seen her own boyfriend's eyes before, and it made her wonder if she would feel the same if she looked into them. So, around the time when the sun was beginning to set, she decided to talk to Robin about it. She didn't find him in the gym, his bedroom, the main room, the library, or the garage, though, so she went to the last place she thought she'd find him.

Sure enough, Robin was sitting on the roof, watching the sun sink below the horizon.

"Hey, Star," the boy said happily when he saw her, taking her hand and kissing it. She immediately smiled brightly: just being near Robin like this was enough to make her feel as though there was nothing else in the world that really mattered.

"Robin? I have been thinking lately," she said thoughtfully. "What are you hiding?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Robin stated truthfully, looking utterly confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"You must be hiding something behind your mask," Starfire finally sighed, eyes glittering sadly when Robin looked really uncomfortable all of a sudden; the alien girl had expected that much, so she placed he hand lightly on his shoulder.

"I have secrets, Robin," she said soothingly, "but I do not need a mask to hide them. I understand that you went through a great deal of pain before we met, and I also understand that you wear your mask to hide your secrets from your enemies… but I do not wish for you to hide them from me. It makes me feel sad when you do so…"

"I… I don't know if I can…" he said quietly, looking away.

"Robin, I only wish to help you," she whispered, concern eminent in her voice. "I wish to ease your inner pain… ever since Percy and Patty became a part of our family, I have learned that there are not only people who hold their troubles deep inside: there are also those who are in so much pain that they cannot hide it, but it is not pain from a _wound._ Because of the terrible things that can happen to the people of Earth when they are growing up, those who _do_ experience such horrors have lots of pain hiding beneath a smile... and right now, I feel like there is a boy behind that mask in a great deal of pain. A boy who is afraid. You do not need to be afraid of me."

Robin knew she was right: in all truth, he had wanted to tell her about everything that had happened to him the moment he'd met her on that battlefield so long ago, the fight where she'd kissed him for the first time. However, he'd closed himself off from the world a long time ago and hadn't been able to bring himself to confide in her. Now that the two of them were finally together, however, things were changing: now that he had someone to love, his secrets were bursting to be free.

This was his chance to open up.

Robin took Starfire's hands in his and guided them to the corners of his mask; she looked at him questioningly.

"Are you sure?" she asked breathlessly; when he nodded, the girl tugged gently at one corner and it began to fall away from his face: the mask was in her hand. When she looked up and their eyes locked, he felt the rebellious tears welling up in his throat and choked them back.

Starfire stared at the white-blue eyes she thought she'd never see with something very close to utter fascination: they were such a light shade of blue that they very nearly bordered on being completely white, and they reflected the light of the setting sun like a silvery-blue mirror. When he looked at her, though, she saw what she had so longed to see and instantly understood what Persephone had meant by feeling safe... it was true, for she could see in his eyes that he loved her more than she ever could have expected. She immediately pulled him into a gentle embrace and held him close to her chest, feeling his shoulders shaking violently as he buried his face in her shoulder. She didn't understand why he was so ashamed of his eyes.

They were so unique and beautiful that she had instantly fallen in love with him all over again.

"Hush… I am here now," she whispered gently, stroking his back: she could feel all the years of pain and anger being lifted from his shoulders as he cried against her. This was a side of Robin she'd never known existed, and she was only seeing it because of Persephone's input on her own feelings: the boy in her arms trusted her much more than anyone else.

He was finally opening up to her, just as she had always opened up to him.

When his shoulders finally stopped shaking, he pulled away from her slightly… but he was smiling now. They leaned forward at the same time and shared a kiss with more depth and meaning than any they had ever shared before. When the two of them finally broke apart, he held her close and they watched as the stars began appearing in the sky all around them.


	13. Chapter 12: A Very Special Day

**Chapter Twelve: A Very Special Day**

Patrokalos and Persephone both woke up one early morning to Cyborg dragging them out of bed, pleading over and over again that he needed them to go to the mall with him for a little while. Still half asleep, both twins groggily slipped on some of their casual Japanese school clothes before they allowed themselves to be dragged out the door with the bionic boy.

It wasn't until later that they noticed most of their superhero friends had virtually disappeared.

**TXXXXXT**

It was an idyllic afternoon in Jump City: the sun was shining down gloriously, and the rays of surreal light danced upon the pristine waters surrounding the city, reflecting brightly off of the windows of the many skyscrapers in the metropolitan area. Even though it was early September, it was warm outside; the sort of day that served as a goodbye for summer just prior to the impending autumnal chill. With such nice weather, it was no surprise to see that the streets of the city were full this early in the afternoon: some people were merely running errands and going about their daily business, while others skipped out of work early to squeeze in one last game of golf or one last trip to the beach with the kids.

It was truly a great day to be alive.

However, even though nature itself had provided a remarkable day for everyone to enjoy, it was even _harder_ to ignore the electric blue sports car that was careening down the Jump City Freeway with its windows rolled down, the radio cranked up, and the identical blonde twins sitting in the back seat with both of their heads stuck out the window—squealing and whooping excitedly as the wind tossed their shoulder-length hair around like two violent sprays of burning gold.

"Guys!" Cyborg shouted irritably. "What part of 'no sticking your head out of the T-Car' didn't you understand?"

"C'mon, big guy! If you knew how fun it was, you would do it, too!" Persephone squeaked, expression quickly changing from one of absolute joy to one of disappointment as she and her brother sat back down. Patty sighed and leaned his head on the window, staring out at the passing scenery with dreamy blue eyes as the wind carelessly whipped through his blonde hair.

"Yeah, but I don't—so stop it," Cyborg laughed, smiling to himself as he drove down the freeway.

"Hey, Patty?" Persephone asked curiously, looking at her brother, "how long has it been since we've been to a mall?"

"I dunno, Percy," the boy stated, blinking a bit before he sat up straighter. "At least eight years, if I'm correct."

"Wow… eight years?" Cyborg replied, giving a little snort. "It's been a very long time since I've been there, too, honestly: between fighting a group called the Brotherhood of Evil, recruiting the two of you, Terra's resurrection, her second betrayal, and just taking care of business like we usually do… well, none of us have really had all that much time to ourselves lately."

"Well, then this is gonna be awesome!" Patrokalos laughed, throwing his hands in the air out of excitement. "We can go check out the arcade and the electronics store and see the new things they made and upgraded during the last six years!"

"Yeah!" Cyborg agreed enthusiastically, shooting both of the twins a huge grin that lit up his steely grey eye. "I heard on the radio that the new Turbo Racing game came out yesterday for the GameStation XL, so we've just gotta check that out!"

"Oh, and don't forget all of the yummy treats at the food court!" Persephone sighed dreamily, drooling a little bit as she thought of all the things she'd seen about malls on several different television shows. "I honestly don't know who invented the chocolate-frosted pretzel, but I think they managed to create a slice of heaven on earth… and this is coming from an angel."

"Well, this is going to be fun, if nothing else," Cyborg laughed, shaking his head as he parked the T-Car in front of the mall and rolled up the windows. He and the twins all got out and began walking toward the front of the mall, the latter interlacing their hands without caring who saw them.

As they walked through the doors, however, the twins were abruptly overcome by the sights, smells, sounds, and incredible bustling going on all around them: the sound of multiple conversations and unbridled laughter enveloped them quickly, along with the sight of thousands of twinkling lights—from the fluorescent storefront signs to the decorative strobes and multicolored stands of bulbs used to seduce the eye. Even better, though, was the scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and chocolate-frosted pretzels looming somewhere off in the distance: even though the food court was on the other side of the mall, the scent had permeated the air and proved to be thoroughly intoxicating.

Cyborg, Persephone, and Patrokalos passed each store front slowly, dazedly taking in what each display window had to offer.

They even strolled passed the perfume vendors and scented-candle stores, which—to most people—could prove to be either overwhelming or nauseating. The odd group seemed to be moving in slow motion compared to the throngs of people moving hurriedly passed them. However, what was normal for some was very precious to them: a trip to a mall like this—something that was supposed to be completely for themselves—was a rare and well-deserved little treat.

"Can you believe that people do this all the time?" Patrokalos suddenly asked, shaking his head in amazement. "They just drop everything, pile up in a car, and hang around here for hours… do you ever think about normal stuff like that, Percy?"

The small girl blinked as she walked alongside Cyborg and her brother: both of them had chosen to pad around in their matching Japanese school uniforms since it had become another one of their recognizable 'superhero looks' to the people of Jump City. Percy's blue eyes were round and twinkling from the bright lights flickering on the signs nearby, but the most noticeable thing about her face was the fact that she had a goofy smile on her face—a mixture of relaxation and contentment—as she took in her surroundings.

"I would be lying if I said I never thought about what having a normal life would be like," Persephone said pensively, pondering the logic behind her response, "but then… I think about the people we've saved so far, and all of the good things we've done. Besides, I don't think we would have ever met Robin, Cy, Raven, Beast Boy, or Star if we'd had a normal life."

"I, personally, wish that you would talk to us more often about your pasts: you two are very interesting" Cyborg quietly murmured; however, he noticed how the twins stiffened in dismay and hastily added, "I remember what life was like…when it was normal: for me, there was no responsibilities and no obligations, but it seems like so long ago that it feels trivial now."

Both Percy and Patty fell silent as they all continued walking through the mall, approaching the electronics store. While they all loved fighting villains and making the city—and world—a better place for mankind, a taste of normalcy was always bittersweet for people like them. It was great to shirk the responsibility of heroism for a while, but it was also difficult to give up the freedoms that average people could enjoy on a regular basis. However, their somber mood evaporated as soon as they reached the electronics store in the mall.

Patrokalos and Cyborg stood in awe as they gazed at the storefront window: flat-screen and high definition televisions, premium surround-sound stereo systems, game consoles hooked up to 60-inch LCD televisions, and a plethora of technological treats had been laid out before them. It was hard for even Percy to resist admiring them, and even harder for the boys not to drool on the displays.

After browsing through the store and playing around with almost every item available to them, Cyborg and his blonde-haired charges emerged from the store with the item they had originally set out for: Muscle-Car Turbo, the next generation racing game designed especially for GameStation XL.

Really, there was just one thing left for them to do now: head in the direction of the wondrous scent of cinnamon buns, which would surely lead to the food courts. The walk to the food court from the electronics store was considerable, but when hunger struck these particular teenagers, it was difficult to ignore the feeling but even more impossible to reason with.

It wasn't long before they made it through the lines and finally sat down at a table, Cyborg with a large plate of loaded beef-and-cheese nachos, and the twins with two cinnamon rolls and a large soft pretzel loaded with frosted chocolate—which they planned on splitting in half.

They sat in silence at first, just enjoying their food and looking at their surroundings, but a few passersby noticed the Titans in the food court and stopped to pull out their camera phones to snap a quick souvenir photo.

"Well, I guess that's one definite perk of the job: I've got a celebrity status that rivals Jessica Simpson's!" Percy giggled happily, wiggling her eyebrows at her brother as she took a bite of her pretzel. After she was finished chewing, the small girl got up and played up the moment by kissing Cyborg's cheek and wrapping her arms around his neck; his dark skin turned almost black as he blushed in surprise. Percy cocked her head and grinned in an adorably cute pose for a few of the paparazzi who were snapping pictures; she put her head on his shoulder as Patrokalos stood up and joined in with that cheesy grin of his.

Cyborg could only laugh; these were the Harmony Twins at their best.

Just as the twins were about to resume eating, an alarm in Cyborg's arm went off: the sound of it startled both blondes as they were turning to sit back down, and they tripped over their own two feet like the adorable klutzes they normally were.

"Oh, no!" Percy whined, face pulling into a saddened pout. "What's the alarm for?"

"It must be quarter after four already: Robin said he wanted us back by five in the afternoon," Cyborg said feebly, heart speeding up a little bit. Even though he'd been having a really good time hanging out with the twins and doing something normal for a change, he was more excited about what would await them when they returned home.

Still, they didn't get opportunities like this too often… especially when it came to relaxing.

"Oh, great!" Patrokalos sighed, shoulders slumping as Cyborg shut off his arm-alarm. "I can't wait! There is absolutely nothing better to do on a Friday afternoon than go running through an obstacle course with laser guns singeing your butt!"

"Come on, Pat," Cyborg said in a serious tone, desperately trying to hide the smile that wanted to break free. "We've gotta get back to the T-Car. Rush hour is about to start and if we get caught in it, Robin will probably punish us for being late."

Persephone hung her head a little and shrugged her slender shoulders: apparently there was work to be done, and even though she was the most carefree of the Titans other than Beast Boy, she wasn't the type of girl to shirk her responsibilities when it came to her team. Cyborg, Percy, and Patty hurried through the mall on their way out—doing a complete turn-around from how they'd acted earlier in the afternoon. There was no time to stop and take it all in now: duty had called them, and the only thing that mattered was getting back to the Tower on time in order to avoid a scolding from Robin… and, essentially, the extra hours of physical training that usually accompanied being tardy to a meeting, debriefing, or training session.

Yup…

Once they were outside, Cyborg and the twins piled into the T-Car before hitting the freeway: unlike the ride to the mall, the windows were rolled up, the music was turned off, and all three teens sat in silence: the only sound which permeated the interior of the T-Car was the sound of the engine humming melodiously as Cyborg gently shifted from one gear to the next.

"Thanks for taking us out to the mall today," Persephone suddenly murmured, breaking the silence.

When he grinned at her in the mirror, she smiled in reply before folding her skinny arms and gazed longingly out the window. Even though the day was coming to a close, it was still beautiful outside and there were a few good hours of daylight left… on top of that, there were still a number of activities that appealed to her—especially when contrasted with the prospect of combat practice, an exercise that tested everyone to the point of physical exhaustion. Cyborg continued to steer in the direction of Titan's Tower.

The T-Car, humming merrily with every shift of the gears, now cruised onto the Jump City Bridge. Once over the bridge, the tunnel to Titan's Tower was but two exits away. It was now ten to five and traffic on the bridge was beginning to back up—and Cyborg began to wonder whether or not he and Angel were going to make it back on time. He continued to drive as Titan's Tower came into sight. In this light, the Tower cast a massive shadow on the glinting water surrounding it.

It was truly a magnificent sight, even if they did have combat practice once they arrived.

When they finally pulled into the garage and hopped out, the twins clasped hands and bolted up the stairs for the common room, praying that they wouldn't be late for Robin's meeting. They really didn't want to get extra training hours, although the meditation with Raven wouldn't be such a bad thing since the girl was almost always willing to chat with the two of them.

However, they bolted through the common room doors to find that the lights were out and it was pitch black.

"Huh?" Persephone asked blankly, looking around and squinting at the shadows. "Where is everyone?"

"I dunno…" Patty replied, looking just as clueless as his twin. "Oh, crap! Were we so late for the meeting that it _ended?!"_

"Oh, god, we're in _so_ much trouble!" the blonde girl wailed, jumping up and down. "What do we say?!"

When a muffled snicker erupted from the darkness, the twins jumped in surprise and the lights suddenly flew on. Both of the blondes twitched and blinked in stunned confusion as their teammates jumped out of hiding and began cheering, letting loose some confetti-poppers and blowing some kazoos; the twins glanced up to see that everyone was wearing party hats.

Starfire was rapidly snapping some pictures with a digital camera.

"What's going on?" Persephone squeaked, looking thoroughly amazed. "Is today some sort of holiday?"

"You little knucklehead," Beast Boy snickered, bounding over and pulling her into a hug; the blonde girl squeaked and turned bright red when he unexpectedly nibbled on her neck, nearly making her legs turn into a puddle of warm butter. "You two are really the truest blondes I know if you can't even remember your own birthday! Happy Birthday, Patty and Percy!"

"How did you guys know we turn sixteen today?" the blonde boy squawked, mouth hanging open in delight. "We never told any of you what our birthday was, so this really did come as a total surprise! I mean, we've never had a party before!"

"Well, that means this occasion will become even more special to you," Raven stated slyly, cocking an eyebrow when the twins walked up to the table that held their birthday cake. It was a marble cake with organic butter-cream frosting and actual tropical fruits that had been freshly grown by Cyborg in his bedroom. Resting on top of the cake were two candles: one was shaped like Patrokalos, and the other was shaped like Persephone. Each twin picked up the candle depicting their opposite.

When they looked up at everyone with large blue eyes, the Titans began to sing happy birthday.

"Make a wish, you guys!" Cyborg chuckled proudly; however, all of the Titans paused when both twins merely blew out their respective candle and looked up with tears streaming down their faces. With the simultaneous effect that sometimes left all of the Titans feeling baffled, Percy and Patty smiled so brightly that their faces literally shone with utter joy and love.

"We don't need to make any wishes," the boy chuckled, sniffling and rubbing his eyes as tears streamed from them.

"We already have everything we could ever want," the girl added, bawling as their friends laughed. "Thank you…"


	14. Chapter 13: The Return of Fear Itself

**Chapter Thirteen: The Return of Fear Itself**

A month had passed since the surprise birthday party, and Halloween was once again looming over the Titans. However, this time it was going to be a bit different for the newest members of the famous Superhero Family: the team of vigilantes had forgone all costume parties in favor of watching the scariest movie ever: it was called Curse of the Bleeding Eyes.

The frightening part was the fact that every event in the movie had been based on a true story.

Quite honestly, Persephone and Patrokalos had never really watched a horror movie before, so they didn't actually know what to expect from the video when Robin put it in and sat down next to Starfire. Everyone settled into their respective seats soon afterwards: Percy snuggled up next to Beast Boy, who looked like a typical testosterone-filled idiot since he was trying to make a show of being brave; Patty was sitting cross-legged on the couch with Raven leaning against him, legs stretched out as she held an open book in her hands; Robin was, as to be expected, snuggling with Starfire; and Cyborg had sprawled out comfortably on the rest of the circular couch that spanned the majority of the room. Percy fearfully squeezed a fistful of Beast Boy's purple and black uniform when the lights clicked off, but she forced her eyes to remained glued onto the television.

Then the film began to play.

**TXXXXXT**

_The black-haired twins ran through the woods with their hands clasped together tightly, looking utterly terrified of the vile creature that had killed everyone around them without mercy. It had come so swiftly that they hadn't even seen it: the people around them had simply started acting strange, then begun spurting fountains of red from their eye sockets. _

_Suddenly, a shadow descended upon them and the children screamed: their world finally went dark and more sickening screams began to erupt, coupled with a splattering sound and some hysterical begging that screeched for the pain to stop. The screams of the first child grew in intensity before dying away with a squelching crunch and a horrific death whine. Then there was more screaming as the child's twin met the same fate. The screen went even darker before two words popped up on it, four eyeballs dangling from the letters._

_"The End…" a sinister voice whispered, "or… is it?"_

For several moments after the television went blank with the end-of-movie snow, all of the Titans were riveted with sheer and utter horror: they all had expressions of terror plastered across their faces, along with something else that made their skin seem slightly greenish. Four of the vigilantes looked at each other before slowly glancing at the shadows with unnerved eyes.

"Is it over?" Beast Boy whined, not uncurling from the tight little ball that he and Percy had fearfully meshed into.

"I dare not open my eyes to find out," Starfire whimpered, shielding her face with Robin's cape. "This particular cassette of the entertainment was not like the wonderfully horrible movie that Beast Boy brought home. I fear that Wicked Scary is no longer scary…"

"That…" Robin shakily stuttered, swallowing to allay his nausea. "That was a little too much, even for me."

"I'll admit that I was scared this time… because I really… was," Raven croaked out calmly, although her face did look a bit paler than usual and her stoic expression seemed severely shaken up by what she'd seen. "At least we won't need to deal with what happened during Wicked Scary three years ago… I've accepted my fear, so I can control it now: it won't happen."

"Says the girl who hid her face in her book when that sweet old lady's eyes exploded!" Patrokalos wailed softly, not lowering the edge of girl's blue cape away from his frightened blue eyes. "I've never even seen a scary movie until today!"

"I honestly thought it was sort of mild, aside from all the gore," Cyborg stated disinterestedly.

"YOU'RE CRAZY!" six of the Titans cried, making the bionic boy raise his hands with a 'no-offense' expression.

"I…" Persephone whispered quietly, eyes dilated and face utterly blank, "I want to go to bed…"

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, looking at her in surprise. "We were going to watch a remake of Romeo and Juliet…"

"I want to go to bed…" the blonde girl repeated, peeling herself away from Beast Boy and stumbling out of the common room with jerky movements. Persephone, you see, was utterly terrified… not because the movie in itself had been scary, for she had expected that much and been prepared for it; she was terrified because she had experienced some similar things during her five-year stay at the facility where they'd tortured her and her brother. She had been the one they'd tested on: not because she'd had the most endurance, but because her body could heal much faster than her brother's could.

When she locked herself up in her room, the girl changed into her favorite nightgown and tied her hair back with a ribbon before she plopped down on her bed and buried herself under the covers. She started trembling when the heavy rain that was supposed to have moved in a few days ago slowly began to pelt at her large windows. Somehow, during the period where she was curled up and telling herself that she was fine and okay, she was free from being hurt by people with evil intentions, the girl managed to fall asleep: she was only aware of this fact because she bolted upright in a cold sweat without knowing how or why she'd fallen asleep.

The girl panted harshly as her eyes flashed around, blonde hair plastered to her cheeks and neck.

"I… I want a teddy bear," the girl mumbled, looking around the room with large blue eyes.

Her room was fairly calming, though, so she lay back down with a shaky sigh and tried to fall back asleep.

However, she froze when she heard a child's horrific screech echoing from somewhere in the Tower: several thuds ensued as everyone bolted out of their respective bedrooms. She sat up and was about to do the same when she felt something slide across her neck and her blue eyes widened in sheer terror: when she heard a low chuckle emanating from directly behind her, the girl's heart nearly exploded from the fear that swept through it. Bolting upright so quickly that she tripped and fell out of bed, the blonde took in a deep breath and let out a bloodcurdling screech that dwarfed every single scream in the terrifying movie she had seen earlier.

Scrambling to her feet as the shadows slowly shifted around and became something else, the girl let out another screech and sprinted for her bedroom door, rapidly pushing on the button to open it and panicking when she realized that it had gone dead. Percy instantly started banging on the metal and screaming her head off, bursting into tears as the shadows around her took on a tangible form.

Quite abruptly, the door slowly screeched open and she bolted forward at full speed—crashing right into Cyborg and Raven, who were immediately winded since they slammed into the wall. The two Titans looked worried because of the state she was in.

"Persephone, what just happened?!" Raven rasped, gripping the panicking girl's shoulders when her body violently began to shake; when Percy buried her face in the girl's cloak and started wailing hysterically, Raven frowned deeply and tried to read her mind. However, she found nothing out of the ordinary, aside from the sheer terror that the blonde was experiencing.

That's when another, deeper scream ripped through the tower, this time coming from the room next to Persephone's: Cyborg instantly bolted away from the girls and tried to open the door, face going white when the blonde boy began crying his eyes out and screamed for his sister. Patrokalos continued to scream just as madly as Persephone until, quite abruptly, his voice cut off and the hall went eerily quiet: Raven's eyes flew open wide when she realized that the boy's presence had totally vanished.

"He just disappeared," the empath exclaimed, leaping to her feet in surprise. "Patrokalos isn't in there anymore!"

"Raven, you said you had control this time!" Cyborg squawked, flailing his arms when Percy's knees wobbled and she looked ready to cry. "Why did you tell us that you had control when you obviously don't?! Accept your fear again, quick!"

"I'm scared, Cyborg," the empath retorted, violet eyes blazing. "I already have accepted it! This isn't me, understand?!"

"We need to get to the other Titans right now," the bionic boy stated, shaking his head. "Star, Robin, and BB all bolted for the common room when they heard that child's scream, so I'm fairly certain that they'll be waiting for us. Let's go right now."

"Percy, come on," Raven stated, pulling the shaking blonde girl to her feet and dragging her quickly down the hall.

"The… the shadows," Persephone squeaked, face turning pale as she looked at the walls, "they're moving around…"

"Huh?" Raven asked, looking up only to see that the girl was right: the shadows were indeed shifting around like smoke.

"What the hell…?" Cyborg muttered, eye flying open wide; he instantly turned on a scanner in his arm. "Yo, I'm actually registering some seriously disturbing things on my systems… my scanner is saying that something is here right now, and I've got a bad feeling that it's not exactly friendly. My heat radar is registering temperatures going below zero near the walls."

"Stay away from them until we can get to the others," Raven stated simply: they were nearly to the common room. When the three vigilantes finally made it to their initial destination, Persephone noticed with an uneasy sort of relief that the lights were on and the shadows weren't lingering on any of these walls. However, her teammates were currently arguing with each other over what was actually going on: Starfire was brandishing the scary movie case, trying to make it known that the video they had been watching earlier was no longer in the DVD player; Robin was trying to soothe her and get the point across that it was most likely Raven's powers causing it to happen all over again; and Beast Boy, obviously, was panicking like crazy.

"Dude, is it too late to change my opinion on the real cursed movie?" Beast Boy cried, waving his arms around with frightened green eyes when the rest of the teens walked in. "The spirit of the bleeding eyes must have come through the portal that video opened when we watched it! I mean, haven't you seen the news?! Strange accidents have happened to the viewers!"

"You're three years too late, and all of the viewers are still alive from that freak bus accident," Raven stated flatly, hurrying over to the group with Persephone close behind. "However, before any of you start pointing fingers, let me just say that I have complete control."

"How do you explain the scream, then?" Robin demanded. "This is exactly how it happened _last_ time, Raven."

"So, you actually want some proof that it isn't because of me?" the empath asked sarcastically, cocking an eyebrow as she lifted the television remote and flung it at Beast Boy with her powers. "There you go, Bird Boy: you have your proof now."

"Then," Robin stated slowly, folding his arms with a frown, "what's causing the—"

Quite suddenly, the lights went out and Persephone let out a squeal before clinging to Raven. All of the Titans looked up at the suddenly-dark light bulbs as a flash of lightning lit up the entire room, followed closely by a loud crack of thunder.

"The storm… tripped a circuit breaker?" Robin feebly proffered when Starfire gripped his arm.

"This is creepier than the last time," Cyborg stated unhappily, flicking on his shoulder light and looking around.

"I do not wish to be eaten by monster rats again!" Starfire whimpered, squeezing Robin's arm.

"Does that mean my brother got eaten by rats?!" Persephone shrieked, making everyone jump; she grabbed Raven's arms and shook her frantically. "Raven, he's absolutely terrified of rats! My brother didn't get eaten by any monster rats, did he?!"

"Shut up, calm down, and start thinking rationally," the empath snapped, making the girl flinch. "If something that bad had really happened to your brother, you would have sensed it and experienced it as well, right? You two share a soul, after all!"

"Yes, but…" the girl whined, eyes filling with tears, "I can't feel him anymore! His part of the link is just… gone!"

"What?!" Raven rapped out, head flying to the side so she could look at Percy. "How is that possible…?"

"Wait… are you guys saying that something happened to Patty?" Robin asked, hastily stepping forward; however, he stopped and glanced down at his arm when a soft tendril of shadow brushed against it. The rest of the Titans let out various sounds of fright: Starfire let out a squeak, Cyborg a yelp, Raven a small gasp, Beast Boy a hysterical squeal, and Percy simply began hyperventilating before burying her face in Raven's shoulder. Robin, meanwhile, simply looked over his shoulder.

A shadowy robed figure was standing behind him, oozing darkness and sucking the light out of the air.

When it twitched with several popping noises and the sound of raspy breathing, Titan leader ordered an attack.

"ACK! T-Titan's, GO!" Robin yelped, flipping away from the silhouette and throwing a bird-a-rang at it.

Starfire let out a high-pitch shriek and rapidly threw her glowing green star bolts at the thing, but the deadly light and exploding weapon merely went through the apparition and destroyed the walls directly behind it. Cyborg shot a blue beam from his sonic canon, but he was knocked off his feet and sent flying through another wall by a whip-like tendril of shadow. Beast Boy morphed into a gorilla and tried to slam the monster, but he went flying through the monster as well. Raven chanted her mantra and lifted her arms when Star and Robin were ensnared by the shadows and lifted into the air, unable to breathe: her dark powers immediately engulfed the ghostly monster for a moment, but something painful slammed into her mind like a ton of bricks and she was sent flying backwards with Persephone, since the blonde had been holding onto her arm and had refused to let it go.

Percy let out a shriek when Raven groaned, closing her eyes before letting them snap open again.

They were glowing with white light.

Slowly standing up, the angel opened her mouth and sang a few sharp notes before a blinding blue light engulfed the entire Common Room. Robin and Starfire immediately dropped down to the floor as the monster vanished, breathing harshly and coughing as the breath returned to their lungs. Cyborg slowly stumbled into the room, rubbing his head, and made his way over to where Percy was standing: with an easy arm, he pulled Raven to her feet and turned to check on Beast Boy.

The green-skinned changeling was shivering violently and rubbing his skinny arms with chattering teeth.

"Dude, I feel like my insides just got frozen into a solid block of ice," Beast Boy chattered, looking up with shivering shoulders and a shaking mouth. "Can someone please tell me what the heck that thing was?! Because I'm totally clueless."

"When aren't you?" Raven asked sarcastically.

"It looked like something from a horror movie," Cyborg noted calmly, "but not the one we watched earlier."

"Then, if it is not a projection from Raven's mind or an actual relic from the movie," Starfire stuttered, shivering a little bit and rubbing her own arms as she and Robin shakily stood up, "where did it come from, and why did it choose to haunt us?"

"I don't know, but we need to figure out what's going on," Robin stated grimly, trying to keep from shivering and failing miserably since his body was so cold. "Titans, let's split up and search for any clues on what might be causing this, okay?"

Quite unexpectedly, Raven lashed out with her powers and kept all of them from going anywhere.

"Do you not remember what happened the last time we went together?" the empath stated flatly, looking at all of them with glaring violet eyes as a vein popped out in her forehead. "Now, think of how easy it will be for that thing to pick us off if we split up."

As if to prove her statement, another crack of thunder made Persephone shriek and leap onto Beast Boy's back: normally, his ego would have been extremely puffed up to have a girl jump on him for comfort, but he was too scared himself to act like a cocky knight in shining armor: he merely slid his arms under her legs and held her up, piggy-back style, while she cried.

"Yup," the changeling muttered, looking at Raven in dismay. "I have a feeling that I'm gonna be taken first again."

**TXXXXXT**

Ten minutes later, the Titans were traveling down the hall as a group with Cyborg leading the way. The power was out all over the tower, so everything was pitch black aside from the bionic teenager's shoulder-light and Starfire's luminescent green power—which was currently being used to light the way down the hall; her hand was held up high with the glow around it.

"Persephone, I know you're scared, but could you get off of my back for a while?" Beast Boy finally groaned, rolling his shoulders a bit before he stopped and glanced at the blonde head buried in his shoulder. The girl nodded against his neck and gently slipped off his back, silently moving away from him and clinging to Raven's cloak with gentle fingers; the pale empath blinked a little bit and looked down at the blonde when she sensed a small burst of relief surging up in the small girl's heart.

The fact that Percy felt even a little safer around her made Raven feel pretty good about herself.

"Don't be scared, okay?" Raven rasped gently, keeping her face calm when the blonde slowly looked up at her.

"I'll try not to let it cloud my judgment," Percy allowed, "but I can't keep myself from being afraid."

"What was that?" Robin suddenly whispered; Cyborg instantly turned his light to where the masked boy was pointing.

"What was what, man?" the large boy demanded. "I don't see anything."

"Must have been my mind playing tricks on me," the Boy Wonder muttered, frowning a little; the sudden screech of long claws shredding across metal proved him wrong. The group of teenagers jumped when a banshee-like shriek erupted from the shadows looming in the direction they'd just been coming from: Percy and Raven abruptly whipped around to find that the monster from earlier was gliding towards their group, moving at a terrifying speed while its claws generated sparks on the metal walls.

The blonde girl's electric blue eyes widened in horror, but before she could let out the shriek rising up in her chest, the girl was jerked around by Raven and was dragged down the hall: the two girls were forced to sprint with everything they had just to keep up with their teammates. Raven glanced over her shoulder and gasped when she saw the monster was too close.

"In here! Get inside!" Robin cried, kicking open the nearest door and leaping through it; the Titans were horrified to find that the room was nothing more than a supply closet, but they all piled in nonetheless and slammed the door shut. The loud sound of screeching metal rapidly grew in intensity before shredding past the door and quickly fading away. Soon, only the terrified breathing of the shaken vigilantes could be heard, but even so, they remained in the closet for a little while longer.

"I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic," Raven deadpanned.

"Let me… check to see if the creature is gone," Starfire murmured, opening the door a crack and taking a peek outside of it with fearful green eyes; when she failed to see anything abnormal, she opened the door a bit more and let the light of a star bolt fill the hall before looking around with relieved green eyes. "The creature is gone now, so we are safe… for the moment."

"This is just a bit too familiar!" Beast Boy snapped, clutching his hair as his ears pointed toward the ground. "Dude, do you guys even remember how the monster from wicked scary came rushing down the hall? It looked just like that thing, with the creepy claws dragging across the walls! What if everything that happened last time is going to happen ag—ACK!"

"BB, hold on, man! We won't let it take you again!" Cyborg roared, leaping forward when two tendrils of swirling shadow wrapped around the changeling's shoulders and he was ripped off of his feet. The bionic teenager just managed to grab the flailing boy's boot and held onto it, but the shadows snapped out and cracked him across the jaw: when Cyborg's grip slipped, the changeling was dragged toward the open door at the end of the hall, arms whipping around for something to grab onto.

"What'd I tell you?!" the changeling howled in fright. "It's happening all over again!"

"Beast Boy!" Robin cried, bolting forward as the changeling vanished into the shadows; the Titan leader caught the door just as it tried to shut on him, struggling to pry it open in order to save his friend. However. he already knew what to expect.

When he opened the door, Beast Boy was gone.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire squealed when Persephone went white with terror. "He is… he is…"

"Gone," Raven finished when the girl trailed off. "Again."

"No, no, no, no!" Persephone chanted as she began to hyperventilate; the blonde abruptly clutched her head and squatted down, clear blue eyes going blank with terror as the panic finally set in. "No more, make it go away… please, make it stop!"

"Calm down!" Raven snapped, smacking the girl on the back of the head. "We'll get him back, okay?!"

"What's happening?" Persephone cried, grabbing her hand. "Please, you guys are acting like this has happened before!"

"It has," Robin stated, walking into the room he had just pried open, "but things are happening differently now."

"This isn't the evidence room," Cyborg stated, looking around as the rest of them went in. "This is the tower's generator room… while we're here, we should probably take a look at the switch breakers and see if we can get the power back on."

"Good idea," Robin muttered, walking over to the wall and looking at all the power boxes; when the boy found the one he needed, he stretched out his hand to open it up. However, he let out a scream and whirled around as something snapped out of the wall: when shadowy tendrils wrapped around his neck, Raven and Starfire darted forward and grabbed his hands only to be smacked backwards into a power duct. Cyborg came to the rescue just as the Boy Wonder was about to be dragged through the wall, snatching onto his green gloved hand and gripping it with all of his might; Persephone instantly rushed over and joined in when the boy started to slip, gripping the boy's wrist and squealing when she realized just how strong he was being pulled.

The two of them finally slipped and went flying backwards, looking up just as Robin was dragged into the wall.

"ROBIN!" Persephone screeched, skittering to her feet and bolting over to the wall; she let out a harsh set of musical notes and screamed, lifting a hand into the air as a crackling tendril of electricity began sizzling between her fingers and the wall in front of her. With a blinding flash and a crack of thunder, the plaster exploded as a bolt of lightning lit up the entire room, and a huge hole was blown into the tower; the girl burst inside of it only to find another empty closet and instantly turned around.

"What's going on…?" she whispered fearfully.

"I don't know, but the pattern already seems to be laid out," Raven noted, looking up at their alien friend. "Star, you need to be extremely careful: if my intuition is correct, then you're going to be the next person to disappear. so stay alert."

Starfire squealed and instantly flew over to Percy, clamping down on the girl from behind.

"I wish for this frightening experience to stop, please," the alien yipped, shivering when the blonde made a similar sound of unhappiness and looked ready to cry. "I do not wish to be eaten alive by monstrous rats again! Never, ever again, please!"

"We'll try and prevent it from happening, okay?" Raven stated simply; an hour later, the fearful teenagers had searched the entire tower aside from the basement and were now sitting in the common room, half-heartedly looking around the room.

"Beast Boy? Patrokalos? Robin?" Starfire called in a small voice, hovering around the room with her glowing hands held out before her; she continued flying around in meaningless circles, calling for her missing friends, while Cyborg simply sat on the couch and stared out the windows with an expectant expression on his face. Persephone was sitting in the farthest corner of the room with her head buried in her shaking knees: her fear was so intense that it was causing her powers to lash out.

"Why are you all sitting around in the common room?" Raven asked, walking out of the hall to the bedrooms. "We have to check the basement: it's the only place we haven't been able to check… but this time, we'll all be prepared for everything."

Starfire instantly went pale and whimpered a little bit, but Cyborg merely stood up and grabbed her out of the air before striding over to the corner and picking Percy up, throwing the blonde girl over his shoulder. Raven cocked an eyebrow when he stalked out of the room and headed towards the door leading to the basement, but she followed him despite her confusion.

"I'm not letting either one of you go until you promise not to get taken away," Cyborg growled when they were standing at the foot of the stairs. "Starfire, if you see something this time, tell all of us the moment you do and we'll take you seriously."

"You will not let me be eaten by rats?" the alien girl asked, looking up with watering puppy-dog eyes. "Not again, yes?"

"I promise it won't happen to you again, okay?" Cyborg stated. "Now, you promise me that you'll be careful."

"I promise!" Starfire obediently replied, shivering when he set the two of them down.

"Let's go find the rest of our friends now," the bionic boy murmured, opening the door and pointing his light down the long stairway. The Titans moved down the dark staircase at a very slow pace, eyes flashing around as they wondered what sort of thing would pop out at them next. When they hit the bottom and started to move into the shadows toward the second level of the basement, Persephone saw something small scamper across the floor and let out a squeak before sending a fireball flying at it. Her friends instantly whipped around and stared at her with wide eyes, but Starfire looking particularly terrified.

"What is it?!" Raven asked, looking at her with a serious expression. "Did you see something?!"

"Something is skittering around in the shadows!" the blonde girl wailed as adrenaline began coursing through her veins.

"Was it one of the rats?!" Starfire gasped, instantly hovering in the air with her star bolts at the ready.

"I don't know! I didn't get a good look at it!" Percy stammered back, lifting her hand and forming a large ball of fire so she could see if there was really something moving around; when she didn't spot anything, she turned around to look at Raven and Cyborg, but the blonde girl froze when she saw the mass of shadows above them and went white, mouth opening to let out a horrified scream.

However, no sound came out of her mouth other than a strangled whine that refused to grow any louder.

Starfire jumped when the blonde girl abruptly grabbed her skirt and pointed at the steel beam above their friends; when the redhead immediately followed her finger and saw the mass of shadowy creatures gathering above it, she let out a hysterical shriek and sent a star bolt flying at the metal foundation. Raven and Cyborg immediately dove forward when the beam came crashing down, turning around only to find that hundreds of shadow-like rats were now skittering toward them at a rapid pace.

"RUN!" Cyborg screamed, scrambling to his feet as he and Raven bolted past the blonde and redhead.

Percy's body locked up from the fright, but Starfire frantically came to her rescue: the alien girl grabbed her wrist and hastily flew into the air, shooting star bolts at the growing mass as she followed their fleeing friends toward the stairway. However, Persephone saw a few of the rats on the ceiling and lifted her arm with a horrified shriek before frantically sending her own fireballs flying at the shadow-like creatures. She missed three of them, though, and they jumped down a second later... landing right on Starfire's shoulders.

The alien girl instantly yelped and spun around, trying to fling them off of her so much that she lost concentration of where she was flying in her panic: the redhead went flipping towards the ground as they scampered over her arms and neck. However, when one of the shadow-rats skittered across Percy's frail arm, the blonde girl let out a hysterical cry and awkwardly flailed around, struggling to bat it off of her while simultaneously keeping a grip on Starfire's loosening hand.

When the two girls crashed into the shadowy ground, they were immediately swarmed by the mass: both girls began to panic as the ground beneath them lost its solidity when they stood up, starting to melt away. Starfire threw continuous star bolts at the shadow-rats when they started to rise above her ankles, while Persephone shot bright blue fireballs at all of them.

However, it was ineffective: the girls were being pulled into the ground, and that's when they started screaming.

"Starfire! Persephone!" Cyborg cried, bolting from the stairway and sprinting towards the two girls.

Starfire was already up to her waist in the writhing mass when he began to sprint, but Persephone had fallen into it a few seconds after her and was only up to her knees in the shifting darkness. Cyborg dove just as the redhead let out a horrific scream and sank down, but the hand he managed to grab was Persephone's: the blonde girl's blue eyes were terrified and streaming hysterical tears, but her face was the only thing he could still see above the shadows that had engulfed her body. Raven was the one who saved her: the empath's ringing black power dragged the blonde out of the darkness, sending her flying straight into Cyborg's stomach.

The bionic teenager instantly picked her up and bolted for the stairs, grabbing Raven's arm on the way up.

"We have to go back!" Persephone shrieked, flailing around as she tried to get out of the boy's grasp. "We can't just leave Starfire all alone down there with those things! We have to go get her and save the others, Cyborg, so please just let me go!"

"Think rationally," Cyborg shakily pointed out. "We aren't gonna be saving anybody if those things get us, too!"

"If you remember correctly," Raven told him slowly, "you're actually the one who's going to disappear next."

The boy's skin instantly turned from dark brown to a sickly shade of white.

"Not this time," he stated weakly, turning on his sonic cannon as he moved up the stairs. "That thing won't get me again."

Persephone made a small sound and grabbed the edge of Raven's cape with her thumb and pointer finger when the girl tried to walk past him into the hall: she didn't want to do this anymore, she figured they needed to get some help… maybe the police, or an adult—someone who would help them figure out what was going on. She wanted someone to come save them.

When Cyborg's shoulder-light faded, Raven let out an irritated sigh.

"Cyborg, we could use a little more light," the cloaked girl stated, turning to look over her shoulder only to find that the bionic teenager had vanished from the hallway; she instantly clutched Persephone's hand as her heart flopped unpleasantly, causing a few nearby light bulbs to explode in a shower of glass. "Cyborg? Cyborg, this isn't funny at all! Where are you?!"

"Where did he go?" Persephone whined, clutching Raven's hand just as tightly when the girl froze. "Did he disappear?"

"I think he did," Raven whispered, slowly turning around and looking down the hall with frightened violet eyes, "and if I'm correct, it's my turn now… it's going to be coming down that hall any second! Run, Persephone! We both have to run!"

"Where do we run to?!" the blonde girl shrieked, yelping when she was jerked down the hall they had come from; not even two seconds after she asked, an inhuman screech shredded the air behind them with a horrific crash. Percy glanced over her shoulder to see a bird-like wraith made of shadow soaring towards them like a black cloud of death; the girl instantly shrieked and rapidly bolted ahead of Raven, dragging the empath behind her as the girl's super-speed kicked in.

The two heroines bolted toward the elevator and slammed on the buttons, looking over their shoulders as the monster flew at them. The door opened not even five seconds before it got them: the two girls leapt inside and pounded on the button for top floor; the door finally shut, but the monster crashed into it so hard that both vigilante girls were thrown against the back of the elevator.

"We made it," Persephone breathed, slumping down a bit as the elevator began to rise. "We're safe now…"

"Not yet," Raven whispered, looking down at the ground and watching with sickened violet eyes as the shadows around them condensed into something sticky. "Hold your breath now, and don't open your mouth at all: this stuff tastes awful…"

"What stuff?" Persephone asked, head whipping up before following her friend's gaze. "HIYEEEEEEK!"

Raven tensed her shoulders and held her breath as the stuff rapidly rose above their heads, but before anything terrible could actually happen to either one of them, the elevator doors opened and the girls went sliding out into the common room with the disgusting liquid that had engulfed them. Persephone instantly began to cough, but Raven pulled the blonde girl to her feet and began to back away, looking at all of the doors with apprehensive eyes: as she'd been expecting, something heavy crashed against the door leading to the kitchen, straining the metal so much that it began to creak and began bulging outward.

"What's going on here?!" Persephone wailed in fright, gripping Raven's arm as the two of them began to back towards the tower windows; a wall of dark shadows began to fill up the door leading to the bedrooms, and another writhing mass filled up the only other exit to the room. Raven and Persephone backed away as the rat creatures erupted out of the exit, then turned to look at the hooded monster that had attacked the a few hours ago with large eyes. As the two girls were backing away, Raven chanted her mantra and called her powers, eyes glowing white as she attempted to block the entrance to the common room.

The creatures moved right through the barrier, and the empath's powers dissipated due to her unexpected start.

"I can't stop them!" Raven cried, sounding frightened for the first time that Percy had ever heard; then the pale girl froze and whipped around, gripping Persephone's arm as she kept her backing up any further: her big violet eyes went wide when the windows turned back and a dark face with gleaming yellow eyes began to stretch out of it. Raven instantly froze in shock before turning to look at Persephone, who looked to be on the verge of passing out: that's when it all made sense to her.

Raven knew that none of this had been caused by her: for one thing, her father's eyes had been blood red and there had been four of them. For another thing, the eyes of all the creatures surrounding them were glowing neon yellow, and there were only two. And finally, her powers had been ineffective on the apparitions because demonic energy, no matter how powerful it was, would always lose if it was ever used against something with holy energy. She was a half demon: Percy was a pure angel.

Unfortunately, she didn't know what to do to solve this particular problem because she didn't know the cause: when this type of thing had happened to Raven, it had occurred because she'd refused to accept the fact that she was afraid. The moment she'd accepted it, she'd been able to use her powers and everything around her had abruptly vanished from reality.

Persephone was terrified, and she'd admitted as much… so why had this all started in the first place?

"Percy, look at me!" Raven cried, gripping the stricken girls cheeks and turning her head so she could look at her. "I need you to tell me why the movie you saw earlier scared you so much! You need to let it all out, okay?! Let it flow freely to me!"

"This is hardly the time, Raven!" the blonde girl shrieked, flicking her leg and stumbling backwards when a rat crawled over her foot; she awkwardly crashed into the table and flipped over it by accident, landing on her stomach. "Ouch, help!"

"TELL ME WHY THE MOVIE SCARED YOU!" Raven screeched, eyes flaring white with anger.

"IT SCARED ME BECAUSE I WENT THROUGH HALF OF WHAT I SAW ON THAT VIDEO!" the blonde girl shrieked back, flailing her arms as she began to cry. "The people who locked us up in chains for so long did that sort of thing to me, Raven! They cut me up using scalpels and looked at my innards while I was still alive! I couldn't even die off like a normal human being because I heal too quickly for it to happen, so it was even worse for us! They did horrible things, and the movie brought it all back! I was locked away in the dark with my brother, and the only creatures besides us were all the rats!"

"Persephone…" Raven whispered, blinking in surprise: even after witnessing several long pieces of the twins' memories, there had been a lot of things she still hadn't seen. For starters, she hadn't known the people who had kidnapped the twins had actually gone that far: she'd been too focused on the pain she was experiencing to pay attention to the memory's visuals.

"They hurt me," the blonde girl whined, bursting into tears. "I don't want them to hurt me anymore."

"They won't, so stand up and face your fears: let your power break free," Raven commanded thunderously, clasping the girl's hand with both of hers. "I'll help you do this, Percy: you're not alone anymore, and nobody will hurt you ever again while I'm still here!"

The angel looked into the half-demon's violet eyes before turning to look at the writhing monsters with anger.

Blonde hair fanning out with a surge of static electricity, Persephone's blue eyes flared with white light; Raven's violet eyes slowly turned dark, filling with black shadows as they unleashed their power together. The shape of a blinding white dove with neon yellow eyes and a black raven with four red eyes immediately exploded from both girls' bodies, wrapping around each other in a spiral of light and shadow before stretching into the sky: the terrors inside Titans' tower evaporated.

And both girls, the half demon and the angel, collapsed to the ground with simultaneous groans.

**TXXXXXT**

"Raven… Persephone…" someone murmured, poking the arms of both girls. "Wake up, guys, come on!"

Percy's blue eyes fluttered open to find an identical pair of blue eyes staring back at her: she instantly twitched and sat up, looking at her brother as the memories of what had happened flooded back to her. The moment he opened his mouth to say something, Persephone lunged at him and burst into tears, hugging him so tightly that his face began to turn purple.

"You're okay!" she sobbed, looking around to find that her friends were there as well. "You're all okay!"

"We were never in any danger," Robin sighed, holding a crying Starfire in his arms and sighing in dismay as he thought about how nostalgic the entire experience felt. "This is the second time it's happened, though… so, no more scary movies."

"Raven, you have got some explaining to do," Cyborg stated grimly.

"It wasn't me who conjured this all up, it was Persephone," the pale empath stated gently, giving the tiny blonde girl a sympathetic look when she jumped and looked at the empath in startled shock. "However, unlike me, Percy didn't need to accept any of her fears because she already does accept them: to stop the apparitions, she simply needed some closure about a few unpleasant things the movie had reminded her of. Apparently, there were a few bad memory-triggers in Bleeding Eyes."

"Oh, God…" Patrokalos whispered, face immediately draining of color. "Percy, I'm so sorry… I didn't even realize how similar the movie was until just now… Jesus Christ, why didn't I notice it? I mean, they tortured us for five freaking years…"

"Who tortured you?" Robin asked, looking up in surprise; the twins shared an uneasy glance with each other before they turned to the Titans and motioned for them to sit down on the couch. Once everyone was situated, they told a story that was ten times as horrific as bleeding eyes… it was the story of what they had gone through when they'd been locked in the facility.

Beast Boy looked a little sick when they mentioned that all of it had happened because of Terra's betrayal.

"—and that's why, when I watched the movie, I was afraid," Percy finished, looking at the floor with unhappy eyes. "I was afraid of the things I had seen in the movie because I've actually experienced a lot what we all saw in real life. It scared me."

"We didn't know," Robin stated shakily, clearing his throat to ease the quiver. "We all had pretty much figured out that you had been abused by someone because of how often you flinch away from us, but I never would have guessed all this."

"It's in the past," Patrokalos sighed, giving them all a half-smile. "Let's watch Romeo and Juliet to clear our heads."

"Okay…" Robin murmured, looking around at his team to see tired nods everywhere; only five minutes after everyone had settled in to watch the new movie, the majority of the Titans were fast asleep. The majority being Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Persephone, and Patrokalos: Raven and Cyborg were the only two who were still awake, but they weren't watching the movie.

They were thinking about just how badly the twins had really been hurt during their life because of Terra.


	15. Chapter 14: Let it Snow--FU!

**Chapter Fourteen: Let it Snow... FU!**

After the problem with Percy's frightening manifestations had been dealt with, the Harmony Twins' second Halloween with the Titans passed without a hitch. Patty still hadn't gotten up the courage to ask Raven out and was trying to concentrate on other things to sort out the emotions going through his heart. After Percy had come to him for advice, he'd told her to talk to their teammates, so he figured it was high time for him to practice what he'd preached to his twin.

Because of that, he began spending time with his guy friends instead of meditating.

Winter eventually descended upon the Tower, but the twins absolutely adored cold weather: they both loved snowfall for some reason, but the Titans were soon very grateful for their elemental abilities since they could melt all of the excess snow in a fraction of a second. Quite honestly, it meant that the Titans never had to shovel off the bay, ever again. Once the river flowing through the Metropolis had frozen, the Titans decided to head into the city so they could take to the ice.

The people who were already skating around stopped to stare when the Titans showed up in casual winter attire: Robin was wearing nothing more than a pair of sunglasses, dark jeans, and a sweater; Starfire was wearing a pink turtleneck with a thick jacket and a pair of pale blue skinny-jeans; Beast Boy was wearing an enormous black hoodie and a dusty pair of slacks; Raven was wearing a black sweatshirt, a pair of black jeans, and a long winter coat that effectively sheltered her body the same way her dark blue cloak did; and Cyborg was the same as usual since his metallic frame was more than suitable for the weather.

Persephone, on the other hand, was wearing simple jeans and a striped long-sleeved shirt with an overly large dark blue t-shirt thrown right over the top of it; Patrokalos, similarly, was dressed in a pair of jeans that that matched his sister's and a white long-sleeved shirt with a black button-up t-shirt pulled over it: both twins were also wearing boots and gloves.

The very moment they arrived and began to have fun, people all over the place smiled: Robin instantly began teaching Starfire how to ice skate, while Persephone and Raven taught Cyborg, Patrokalos, and Beast Boy how to lose at ice hockey. Everyone was rather surprised when Raven agreed to play with them, but she later admitted that she'd actually had fun. Once they were done having fun on the, Beast Boy suggested that they visit the park and have a snowball war: everyone had agreed with him, including Raven, surprisingly enough. When they arrived at the park, though, they found that several people were already there.

It had been declared a snow day, so lots of people were skating on the pond and making snow men.

"Okay, Titans, let's get this started!" Beast Boy chuckled evilly. "Girls against boys okay with everyone?"

"Fine with me," Persephone giggled, rolling her tiny shoulders and bouncing on the balls of her toes with a wicked gleam flashing through her electric blue eyes: Raven immediately smirked and Starfire beamed since the blonde girl could get just as competitive as any of the boys on their team. Patrokalos merely rolled his eyes when Robin and Cyborg smiled at her.

"Let's do this!" Cyborg laughed, cracking his neck.

"Ready?" Robin asked cockily, and when there were nods all around, he called, "Titans, go!"

The Titans all ducked and dove behind various sources of cover: Percy whirled behind a tree before singing a barrage of musical notes, grinning broadly as the snow around her lifted into the air and formed into little compact balls that began to dance around her body. With a giddy laugh, the girl grabbed three of them before ducking out of her cover and hurling the snowballs from a safe distance: once they were in the air, she sang a few more notes and the fluffy white balls sped up.

Raven, meanwhile, levitated her own snowballs into the air and shot them at the boys from behind a fountain, while Starfire hovered in the air and dodged all of the projectiles being shot at her; eventually, she swept down to the ground and grabbed a large arm-full of snow, mashing it into a gigantic ball before hurling it at her assailants. Robin, like Starfire, was dodging the fluffy white projectiles out in the open while Beast Boy, Patrokalos, and Cyborg hid behind their rapidly growing snow-fort.

The battle lasted for hours, with several of the civilians joining and taking sides, but it eventually all came down to a one-on-one battle in the end: Robin versus Persephone. Starfire wasn't quite sure who to cheer for, though, so she merely laughed and clapped for both of them in an anonymous sort of way. The Titan leader and the blonde girl threw multiple snowballs at each other and dodged using their incredible acrobatic skills, but when Robin pegged Percy in the shoulder and she crashed in the middle of doing a flexible cartwheel, everyone laughed and cheered for Robin.

"Yes!" he shouted triumphantly, but his triumph was short-lived since he was promptly knocked off his feet by a fleet of snowballs the size of dinner plates. Star, BB, Cyborg, and Patty all cheered for the blonde girl, and even Raven smirked at the sight of the sneaky counter-attack; when Persephone helped Robin to his feet, he bowed and stated, "Your snow-fu is best."

"You were a worthy opponent," Persephone laughed, giving a dignified curtsy in return; then, without warning, she fell backward in the snow and flailed her skinny arms and legs. Robin looked down at her, startled, but she jumped back out of the snow and admired her work with happy blue eyes: the spot in snow looked like an angel with rabbit ears and a ruffled skirt.

"Friend, why were you trying to swim in the snow?" Starfire inquired, looking at her in amazement.

"Starfire, haven't you ever seen a snow angel before?" Persephone asked, blinking when all of the Titans curiously looked at the ground. When she noticed the shape in the snow, Starfire became very excited, so Robin taught her how to make a snow angel of her own. Beast Boy and Cyborg proceeded to make a pissed-off looking snowman which oddly began to resemble Raven, and Raven used her telekinetic powers to make her own snowmen so it looked like she was strangling them.

Patty and Percy sat down together in the snow and smiled a little as they watched their friends. Starfire had slipped and pulled Robin down with her, so they were now lying down in the snow, holding hands and laughing like crazy, and Raven was now pelting Beast Boy and Cyborg with a few glowing black snowballs with a satisfied smirk on her face. Even though the twins were sitting by themselves in the snow, neither one felt alone: they had their family right there with them, and one of the greatest parts about having a family at all was watching them.

Just enjoying their company was enough to make them happy.

Percy gripped her brother's hand and sighed when her feelings and thoughts flooded through him like always: almost instantly, the two of them simultaneously fell back in the snow with content blue eyes, staring up at the endless sky with identical expressions of rapture. In the winter, the sky was like a canvas: it was blank and white with nothing to show but the low, woolly clouds that were heavy with snow. Suddenly, an unpleasant memory surged back into Persephone's mind and her brother jumped in surprise when he sensed the negative surge in her emotions: this sort of thing had been happening ever since the movie had caused the girl to create all of those frightening apparitions, and memories of her past would suddenly haunt her when she least expected it to happen.

_ Darkness all around… then light: the twins were four years old, sitting in the snow out in a field by themselves._

_"I can't do it," Persephone miserably whimpered._

_"Come on, one more try!" Patrokalos urged, gripping her hand._

_"Fine… one more try…" the girl replied; she and her brother hummed together off key before holding their hands out. _

_ Quite unexpectedly, a blast of blue flames melted the snowman in front of her and both blondes jumped into the air. _

_"You did it, Per-Per!" Patrokalos squealed in triumph. "You made fire like all the cavemen in Mama's story book!"_

_"No, Pat-Pat," Persephone corrected excitedly, shaking her head, "we did it together!"_

_"We'll always be together," Patty giggled, kissing his sister's forehead. "We're twins, after all! We're stuck like glue!"_

When Persephone snapped back to reality, she realized that she was breathing a little harder than usual and her brother was staring down at her with worried blue eyes: she gave him a reassuring grin that made him frown a little, but he accepted her silent response and nodded. Then he stood up and headed over to where Raven was sitting on a bench, speaking a few muffled words before she nodded absently and he joined her. Persephone instantly closed her vibrant blue eyes, feeling dazed as little drops of water began landing on her cheeks: it had begun to snow, and whenever it snowed, the world was hushed.

Everything became quieter… it was peaceful… and it was silent.

Robin and Starfire's voices soon sounded muffled through the falling flakes; Beast Boy and Cyborg's battle cries were slightly muted now; Raven and Patrokalos weren't making any noise anyway, the two of them having scooted close together so they could read the book together; and Percy simply kept her large eyes closed, pleasantly soaking in the silence.

Her brother instantly glanced up and looked at her, blue eyes curious.

When they finally returned to the Tower for some hot chocolate, everyone noticed right away that Persephone's mood had skyrocketed after talking to Beast Boy on the way back, and she had rapidly become overly cheerful. Raven noticed that the unusual bubbly girl was constantly touching her shoulder-length reddish gold hair and grinned when she pieced together what must have happened. It was no secret that Beast Boy liked girls with overly long hair, so the girl must have figured it out and was planning to let it grow; Raven blinked before glancing at Patrokalos, who's ponytail bobbed cheerfully as he animatedly chatted with Cyborg about some new video game he'd seen on television. She had to admit that the thought of him with long hair was an interesting one, to say the least.

She smirked at the mental image and rolled her eyes, but pale cheeks slowly took on a rosy tint.

**TXXXXXT**

A few days later, a sense of normality returned to the Teen Titans: Robin started up his training in the gym again, Starfire went back to making her strange alien concoctions, Beast Boy and Cyborg played video games with each other, and Percy, Patty, and Raven started up their meditation time once again. Starfire occasionally joined in during their meditation sessions, but whenever the alien princess meditated with them, both blondes could immediately sense that something was changing.

She and Robin were acting different around each other… they were much closer.

However, during one particular meditation session, Persephone and Patrokalos reached a new level of control over their individual minds. Raven sensed it immediately when the change took place, so they took a break: when Starfire happily went to the kitchen to make some congratulatory tea, Raven stared at the twins as soon as the Tamaranian was out of earshot.

"I assume you realize what this new level of control allows you to accomplish?" Raven asked with a smirk.

"We think so," Patty and Percy replied simultaneously after sharing a knowing glance with each other.

"A few words of advice: never try it on Robin. He's too focused and would sense it immediately. Beast Boy isn't worth it since he doesn't think often enough," Raven stated, pausing while Patty laughed and Percy rolled her eyes with a reluctant giggle. "Cyborg's mind is half mechanical, so you'll pick up sleazy radio broadcasts. I'm warning you now; it gives you a major headache. Finally, Starfire…"

They all heard Starfire sneeze, and something exploded; the twins instantly covered up muffled giggles.

"She wears her heart on her sleeve," Raven finished. "You don't need to reach her thoughts to know what she's thinking."

"So, do you listen to the other Titans' thoughts often?" Patrokalos asked blankly; honestly, it sounded weird to him.

_We can listen to other people's thoughts…?_ Persephone wondered.

_Whoa!_ Patrokalos silently exclaimed, looking at his twin when she flinched and glanced at him in surprise. _I heard that, sis!_

"Only when I have to," Raven truthfully replied, "but tell me the truth, Harmony Twins, because I know that when you first gain this power you'll pick up someone else's thoughts… whether you want to or not. So, whose mind did you read?"

"Starfire's," the blondes mumbled simultaneously.

"I thought you might," Raven stated, nodding wisely at the twins. "Her thoughts are very strong."

Persephone and Patrokalos nodded a little, but they now had pensive expressions on their faces: Starfire had been thinking of that tender moment she had shared with Robin on the roof, the moment when Robin had opened up to her. Percy was glad that Raven had interrupted their discovery of this power, or they would have stumbled upon the secrets Robin had revealed.

_I'd never forgive myself if I had seen what Robin had told Starfire,_ the blonde girl thought.

_That's reassuring,_ her brother quietly replied, actually sounding serious for once; Percy blinked in amazement, still not really used to having anyone hear her thoughts, but she snapped out of conversing in her mind when the alarm went off. The three teenagers exchanged a glance, then ran for the main room; they heard Starfire, who was already there, shouting angrily.

"I should have known!" the redhead squealed.

The Titans all looked at the big screen: there was a girl with long black hair and violet eyes terrorizing the diamond mine.

"She's a Tamaranian!" Persephone squeaked, bouncing a little as she excitedly turned to Starfire. "Anyone you know?"

"Know her? I am related to her!" Starfire chirped angrily, flying from the room at warp speed; Robin hastily ran after her, and he was followed quickly by the other Titans. Percy, Patty, and Raven ran down the hall, slightly behind the rest.

"Um… did I strike a nerve?" Percy asked awkwardly, face screwed up with unbridled worry.

"Yes, that's Starfire's older sister, Blackfire," Raven replied. "She apparently committed some crimes all over the Centauri Galaxy and tried to frame Starfire for it. Then, she escaped from jail, took over their home planet Tamaran, and staged a war to get Starfire out of the way by betrothing her to a muck monster from some nearby swamp moon. She's been trying to snag Robin's attention since she knows Starfire has feelings for him… of course, she doesn't really know they're together now. Oh, and she was the one who sent that alien dragon to the slums, so… well, I guess we have Blackfire to thank for meeting the two of you."

Percy and Patty smiled evilly before letting their phoenix-like wings resurface in a spray of fire.

"Oh, we'll thank her alright," the twins stated coldly; ten minutes late, the Titans arrived at the old diamond mine where they had fought Slade's robotic minions during the time that Terra had first joined their team. It was also the place that Robin and Starfire had fought off Cinderblock's distraction while the blonde girl attempted to destroy their team, one Titan at a time.

However, they didn't find Slade's minions, or Cinderblock, or Terra there now: instead, they found Blackfire.

"Hey, baby sister!" Blackfire laughed, smiling as she touched down on the ground. "How are things with the Titans?"

"Hello, sister," Starfire stated stiffly, barely restraining her anger. "What brings you to Earth?"

"Oh, you know… I just wanted to catch up with my teenage do-gooder pals," Blackfire sniffed, shrugging a bit. "It's been just so long since you banished me from my home planet that I started to get lonely. I decided to find some good company."

With that statement, Blackfire's eyes radiated violet light and she launched several purple starbolts at the Titans.

"Titans, move!" Robin shouted, and they scattered just before impact; Starfire immediately countered the attack with her own green starbolt barrage, but Blackfire took to the air and quickly dodged them. Robin went after her with his bo-staff and bird-a-rangs, but she was much too fast for him. Raven hurled several pieces of heavy machinery at her, Cyborg repeatedly blasted his sonic cannon, and Beast Boy dove at her as a falcon, but the alien girl simply dodged everything they threw at her.

"She's gotten much faster!" Starfire warily admitted.

"Faster, eh?" Percy asked, grinning as she and her brother clasped hands.

"That's where we come in," Patty finished, grin mirroring his twin sister's as their eyes shone with yellow light.

"What have we here?" Blackfire laughed, rolling her eyes. "Two new Titans who look like Terra. How cute."

"Trust me, sweetheart, the two of us can do _much_ more than our sister can," Persephone laughed loudly.

"Oh, really?" Blackfire asked, turning to the sneer twins; however, the blondes weren't there. "Huh? Where did they—?"

"Uh, hello?" a cheerful voice chirped as someone tapped Blackfire's shoulder; the alien whipped around and her glowing eyes widened in unpleasant surprise when she saw that the twins were grinning at her. The two of them were being held up by four rapidly whirling balls of wind that had encased their veiled shoes. Not even a second later, the Tamaranian girl's face was met by two electrically-charged fists and sent flying; however, Blackfire actually managed to shoot a few star bolts at the hovering twins as she was falling toward the ground. Caught unawares, both blondes were hit squarely in their stomachs and their hands separated: the wind around their ankles immediately disappeared, and both of them hit the ground painfully.

Patty and Percy sat up quickly, gasping for breath as her brother crawled over and rubbed scraped arm with an unhappy frown.

"Wasn't expecting that…" the boy grumbled, clasping his twin's hand once again.

The battle was a long one: no matter what they threw at her, Blackfire's increased speed matched them blow for blow.

"We have to get her out of the air!" Robin finally shouted. Raven tried, and failed; Beast Boy tried, and failed; Cyborg tried, and failed; Starfire tried, and failed; Robin tried, and failed; soon, the only ones who hadn't tried were Percy and Patty.

"Bring her out of the air?" the twins inquired simultaneously, voices suddenly going blank. Both blondes abruptly closed their electric blue eyes for several moments, but when they snapped back opened again, a blinding red light had replaced the blue of their irises: their blonde hair weightlessly billowed out and began to turn silver from the roots down. "You really need to get off your high horse and come back down to Earth, little mortal: Heaven is a place that only Gods like _us_ can reach!"

Persephone and Patrokalos lifted their hands into the air and limply swirled them in arcane circles: their fingertips sparked wildly before glowing violet and tears the fabric of space. A large rift of darkness immediately formed above Blackfire's head, making the girl jump and try to get away from it: the rift merely spread out above the area she was flying through. As the tear in space widened, everyone saw that it was alive with crackling stars. Then the twins simultaneously brought their hands down through the air, and a ferociously hot wind ripped through the mine: the rift in space immediately roared down and enveloped Blackfire's body before flattening to the ground; the alien girl tried to fly, but she was weighed down by some unknown force.

The Titans immediately jumped at the opportunity to attack her, and while she put up a good fight, she lost easily: the alien girl was hastily put into a maximum-security chamber at the Jump City prison. However, the moment the Titans walked out of the booking area and into the sunlight, everyone turned to look at the silver-haired twins, who had so far remained unchanged.

"You mortals look at me with distrust for many reasons," the twins stated at the same time, red eyes blank, " but while I may be what you call this 'Angel of Wrath', I am also the protector of everything that these two children hold dear. For some unfathomable reason that even now I cannot explain, they have come to hold you above all else: for that, I must protect you."

"How did you pin Blackfire to the ground?" Raven asked neutrally, wary of vexing the Angel. "What type of power?"

The Angel of Wrath blinked, giving an odd effect since the twins were two different people.

"These two beings, whom you all call the Harmony Twins, are on a different level of power than any of you mortals could ever hope to fathom," the silver-haired entity calmly explained, ignoring the Titans' offended expressions. "They both have dormant powers lying in wait for them that I now have access to: their abilities will stretch beyond anything you'll ever see in another being aside from them. To answer your question, I subdued the alien mortal using their dormant control over gravity."

"Whoa, you can control gravity?!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Dude, that's awesome!"

"I grow weary of this idle conversation," the twins stated monotonously, crimson eyes darkening in anger. "Do not force me to take control of my children for such a trivial matter again, little mortals: I may be protecting you right now because of their feelings for you, but that does not mean I enjoy doing so. Someday, humans, I will likely become your worst nightmare."

With that, the Harmony Twins jerked before their red eyes closed and they simultaneously collapsed: Starfire swept forward and caught the two of them before the could hit the ground and watched in amazement as their short hair once again returned to the familiar reddish blonde that everyone had grown accustomed to seeing. The Titans sighed in relief when both of the twins opened their eyes and everyone saw that their irises had once again returned to being a vibrant electric blue.

"Let us all return home, yes?" Starfire sighed, carrying the twins in her arms since they'd abruptly fallen asleep.

**TXXXXXT**

Later that week, Patrokalos walked into the gym for some spur-of-the-moment training, but found that Robin was already there and viciously pummeling the punching bag. Patty blinked a few times before thinking about what he and Percy had accidentally found in Starfire's thoughts, so the blonde slowly walked up behind the black-haired boy.

"Robin?" Patty said quietly, placing a large hand on his shoulder; he was surprised, not having heard anyone come in.

"Oh! Patty! What's up?" Robin panted, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"You've been kind of tense lately," the blonde carefully replied.

"Yeah?" the black-haired boy stated, suddenly sounding uncomfortable with the topic.

"Talk to her, and tell her," Patrokalos murmured, blue eyes softening in understanding. "She listens to you and loves you."

Robin stared at the boy in amazement for a long moment… but then, slowly, he nodded. Patty smiled brightly and walked across the gym to start his individual training program, made specifically for the times that he and Percy weren't or couldn't be together in a battle. Robin smiled at the blonde boy and headed for Starfire's room; she looked up when she him knocking.

"Who is it?" she called.

"It's me!" Robin's muffled voice called back; Starfire instantly beamed and flew over to the door, but when she opened it she noticed that he had just been in the gym because of how sweaty he looked.

"Do you wish to come in?" Starfire asked, grinning at him..

"Yeah… I need to talk to you," he replied smiling right back when Starfire gently took his hand and pulled him over to her circular purple bed. Once they were seated, Robin took a deep breath and hesitantly began to explain. "Star, I think you might have noticed that… I've been acting… kind of weird lately. I need to get some stuff off my chest, if you're willing to listen."

"I could listen to you forever," Starfire admitted, blushing; he smiled at her in return before he looked down and took his mask off specifically for her. The alien girl immediately stared into his white-blue eyes, once again feeling entranced by the uniquely frozen color and burning love she saw: the warm emotion seemed to clash violently with the frigid blue in his eyes.

He has such beautiful eyes… she thought hazily.

"I was born into a family of circus performers," Robin stated quietly, looking down at the bed as tears of pain slid down his cheeks, going unnoticed and unheeded. "We all had such an amazing act that we were called 'The Flying Graysons'…"

And thus, Robin told the heart-wrenching story of how he, Richard Grayson, had finally become Robin.

"Right after all that happened is when we found you, and you know the rest," Robin finished sadly. Starfire had listened intently to his entire life story. He had talked for hours, but he hadn't realized that she'd been holding his hand the whole time.

"I am glad you shared this with me," she said gently.

"I wouldn't share it with anyone else," the boy replied with a sheepish smile; Starfire grinned in return and moved closer, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He blushed slightly at the gesture and pulled her a little bit closer, hand on her waist.

"I now understand why you wear a mask, but it is still a shame that you must hide your eyes," Starfire said quietly, looking straight up into his beautifully frozen gems. "You have wonderful eyes, Robin."

"Thanks, but my eyes are nothing compared to yours," Robin laughed, shaking his head a little.

"You only say that because my eyes are dangerous," Starfire stated with a grin.

"My eyes would be dangerous, too, if I could shoot laser—" he was cut off by Starfire's lips against his. Percy and Patty instantly woke up at that exact same moment, although they were both lying in their own respective bedrooms: the blondes immediately bolted upright and looked around their rooms, breathing a little more quickly than usual: their heads were throbbing dully, but it was nearly midnight so they searched through their minds for what had caused them to wake up.

What they found caused different reactions.

Percy's eyes widened in shock and Patty smiled when the two of them managed to find the source: a very powerful surge of emotion had come from Starfire's room. Even though Patty was smiling, a feeling of deep loneliness swept over him: the boy pretended that he didn't know why he had felt it. He told himself that it had meant nothing whatsoever before he turned on his side and tried to fall back to sleep. However, the blonde boy ended up staring out the window for hours, blue eyes sad.

_It meant nothing,_ he said over and over. _Nothing at all._


	16. Chapter 15: Speed Vs Time

**Chapter Fifteen: Speed VS. Time  
**

Robin woke up slowly when he felt something warm on his neck… but when it faded and suddenly happened again, he opening his eyes and blinked: he had just realized that he wasn't wearing his mask. He grinned, finally comprehending what the warmth really was. He looked down, and sure enough, there was Starfire, breathing slowly as she slept: they had fallen asleep together after their long talk. Robin realized that if could be anywhere in the world at that moment, he was right where he wanted to be. He'd never told any of the other Titans the story of his past… but then, Starfire wasn't just a Titan to him.

Meanwhile, it was Persephone's turn to make breakfast that morning: she had catered to everyone's needs, normal and non-dairy pancakes as usual, before preparing tea for everyone. Beast Boy and Cyborg were hesitant about the tea, but the girl told them they couldn't have breakfast if they didn't try it: as it turned out, they enjoyed the tea a lot… while she was in the room.

"Hey, where are Rob and Star?" Cyborg asked halfway through breakfast; Beast Boy looked around, almost as though he were just realizing that the two of them weren't present while Percy and Patty exchanged a quick glance before shrugging.

"Probably still asleep," Raven suggested over the rim of her teacup; Beast Boy, Patty, and Cyborg grinned at each other with the expression that only males could really pull off: total mischief. Without warning, all three boys took off running down the hall: Percy and Raven immediately tried to stop them, but their male teammates had gotten a huge head-start.

"Don't!" Percy cried, flailing her arms. "Seriously, leave them alone! You'll wake them up!"

Cyborg ignored the plea and opened Starfire's door as the other two boys giggled madly, but they all stopped laughing when they saw the scene directly in front of them. Raven and Percy looked past them and saw that Robin and Starfire were lying together on Starfire's bed, facing away from them and sleeping peacefully. The redhead was resting in his arms, and both of them were breathing evenly, so they had to have been asleep. Persephone's heart nearly melted at the adorable sight, and she looked up just in time to see that Cyborg, Patty, or Beast Boy couldn't find the will to disturb them without feeling guilty.

As the three boys turned from the door, grumbling, Persephone grinned at them.

"Wow, you guys have hearts after all," she whispered mockingly; Beast Boy and Cyborg ignored her and Patty rolled his eyes before the three of them returned to the kitchen. Raven was still standing at Starfire's open door and staring at the couple with a cocked eyebrow, observing them both with a skeptical expression; Percy walked up and stood next to her, eyes shining.

"If there are two people who were as perfect for each other as those two," the blonde girl sighed, "I'd love to meet them."

"They're giving Romeo and Juliet a run for their money," Raven stoically replied, giving a little nod.

"C'mon, Raven, it's time for breakfast," Persephone sighed, happily grabbing the girl's hand and heading back down the hall toward the kitchen; Raven glanced at her love-struck teammates one last time before the door closed. She had a sneaky suspicion that the two of them were actually awake, but for now she would let it go. It wasn't any of her business, anyway.

"Hear that?" Robin whispered playfully. "They're comparing us to Romeo and Juliet."

"Are they not the characters who died in a famous play by William Shakespeare?" Starfire asked, opening her eyes.

"Well… yeah…" Robin stammered, "but before that, they let nothing come between them the love they had."

"Would you care to explain the concept of this tale to me?" Starfire asked, resting a hand on his arm as they both sat up.

"Of course! Well, I'll explain what I remember, anyway," Robin sheepishly replied, putting his mask back on. "Romeo and Juliet were born into different families who were feuding constantly, but the moment they saw each other, they fell in love…"

**TXXXXXT**

Two days later, the surrounding area was hit by a freak thunderstorm that shook the Tower windows.

"Ugh, rain," Cyborg grumbled. "I don't like rain. Or thunder."

"I love rain!" Persephone suddenly squeaked from right behind him, nearly scaring the boy out of his wits. The tiny girl had walked up behind him while he'd been staring dully out of the common room windows, watching as the downpour fell heavily from the nearly black sky: the most shocking part was the fact that it was only ten in the morning yet nearly dark out.

"I personally prefer the sun," Cyborg replied sourly. "Storms like this really aren't my best friend, you know?"

"Well, you do know what all the Angels say, don't you?" Patrokalos asked, coming into the room with a book in his hands; the black boy disinterestedly shook his head. "Whoever says that sunshine can bring happiness has never danced in the rain."

"I always thought you two were weird," Cyborg grumbled, shivering a little. "Why would anyone wanna dance out in that?"

"I'd rather the two of us be weird than sitting in here all day," Percy replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

"You can have your fun out in that cold shower, but I'm staying right here," he said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

"Fine, Cyborg, you can stay here… but just know that you're going to be missing out!" Persephone laughed lightly, taking her brother's hand; the bionic boy turned around to deliver an angry comeback, but the door was already closing behind them. Percy and Patty tore through the Tower with childish peals of laughter, banging on all of their friend's bedroom doors. Raven, Beast Boy, Robin, and Starfire all looked out into the hallway from their respective bedrooms only a few moments later.

"What are you all inside for?" Patty called, shooting down the hall towards the door that lead up to the roof.

"It's raining!" Percy added in a bubbly voice, laughing as she followed her brother; Raven immediately sighed and exited her room, rolling her violet eyes toward the ceiling in utter dismay… however, there was a very faint smile touching her lips.

"The two of them have been spending way too much time around Starfire," the empath rasped, shaking her head as though she were irritated even though she was still walking down the hall after the Harmony Twins. Beast Boy curiously followed, long elf-like ears twitching a little bit as he wondered what Percy and her brother were so excited about. It was only rain…

"I have always found rain rather saddening," Starfire stated in confusion. "I do not understand why the Harmony Twins are so happy."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Robin replied, smiling; he took her hand and they followed the others to where their musical teammates had run off, but when the four Titans reached the rain-washed roof, they found Patty and Percy lying flat on their backs and staring into the sky as the rain fell. The twins looked up when they noticed them all staring in surprise.

"What, haven't you ever just relaxed in the rain before?" Persephone cheerily asked, grinning at them as though it were nothing but a silly question; they all shook their heads mutely, but Starfire slowly smiled as she caught onto Percy and Patty's excited vibes. "Anyone who says that only sunshine can bring happiness has never truly danced in the rain, my friends!"

Beast Boy laughed maniacally and abruptly turned into a duck: he started waddling madly through a complicated puddle path, purposely quacking and splashing his friends with water. Starfire giggled excitedly and began dancing around in circles, tilting her face up towards the sky and letting the raging downpour wash across her tan face. Robin smiled broadly and took her hand when she spun into his arms: the alien princess grinned in return and pulled him around and around the roof with her.

Raven sighed, shrugged, and folded her legs up under her to meditate.

Persephone and Patrokalos smiled as they watched their friends play in the rain: then the twins grinned evilly.

"Sliding contest!" Patty called; the others stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

"You stand in front of the door, take a running jump, and see how far you can slide across the roof!" Persephone happily explained, showing all of the Titans how it was done before coming to a stop a few yards away from the edge of the roof. Raven suggested that she be the judge when everyone cheerfully agreed that the idea had some merit. Patrokalos was first, and he slid pretty far; Robin came in just under the blonde boy's score, but Starfire beat both of them by a mile. The two boys groaned a little, irked about having been beaten by a girl. Beast Boy, however, decided to take an overly long running start.

"Beast Boy, I don't think you should!" the male angel warned urgently.

"Come on, dude, I'll be fine! You just don't want me to beat you!" the changeling laughed, flapping his hand before he ran forward and dove. However, Patrokalos's blue eyes widened and he immediately covered his mouth: he had been right, for the changeling slid way too far and lost control of where he was going. The blonde titan bolted forward and tried to catch Beast Boy's ankle, but it was too late: the changeling hit his head on the edge of the heating duck and slipped off the Tower rooftop.

Every single one of the Titans went still, frozen with horror… but none of them so frozen as Persephone.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire cried before she took off flying after him; it was quickly apparent that she'd never catch him in time, and he was helpless because he couldn't shift shapes when he was unconscious. Starfire shrieked and was going to dive into the frigid water when the changeling plunged into it, but something unexpectedly flashed past her before disappearing beneath the waves. The redhead instantly pulled back, trying to see whatever had gone into the waves, but she soon had her answer.

"PERSEPHONE!" Patrokalos roared from on top of the tower, looking down with frantic blue eyes. "PERCY!"

"Why are you panicking?" Robin demanded calmly. "She'll be fine, right?"

"We don't know how to swim, and she can't breathe underwater unless she's feeling sad enough to _cry!"_ Patty wailed, leaping to his feet and looking read to jump off the tower. "They're both going to drown down there unless we help them!"

However, not even ten seconds after Robin restrained him, the flailing blonde girl reappeared above the surface with Beast Boy in her arms: Starfire swept the two of them out of the ocean before flying them both back up to the roof. Percy collapsed to her hands and knees the moment she was set down, coughing up water with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Yet the moment she was able to move, she crawled over to where Raven was inspecting Beast Boy's head and taking his vitals.

"Is he okay?" Percy croaked out, touching his arm with light fingers. "Raven, is he hurt? Will he be okay?"

"He's fine, just moderate shock," the empath stated calmly; however, she glanced up and blinked at Patrokalos in alarm when she sensed a tremendous spike in his anger. Throwing Robin off of him with little effort, the blonde boy stormed over to his twin sister and grabbed her by the shoulders: with one violent jerk, he yanked the girl to her feet and glared into her eyes.

"Are you _insane?!"_ he hissed, speaking so venomously that everyone froze. "You just put us both in danger! _Again!"_

"But Patty," the girl stammered, frightened by her brother's outrage, "Beast Boy was in trouble! I-I didn't mean to—"

"That's what you always say when you do these types of reckless things!" the blonde boy roared, making the small girl flinch violently and blink up at him with startled blue eyes. "The moment you see that someone else is in danger, you throw caution to the wind and put your own safety on the line just to protect that person! You've always been like that, Percy!"

"I can't help it, though!" the girl retorted loudly, slowly getting angry as well since the emotions were spreading through their link. "If someone else was in danger, wouldn't you do something to help if you had the power to?! Would you pretend to be an innocent bystander while someone else got hurt?!"

"No, but when _you're_ the one helping those people, you always end up putting _me_ at risk," the blonde boy snarled, baring his glittering fangs at his twin for the first time the Titans had ever seen. "You're too reckless, Percy! You need to be careful!"

"Our souls may be joined, Patty, but our lives are our own!" Percy shrieked, angrily pushing him away. "We have only one soul, but we're not the same person! We aren't just reflections of each other, so stop always trying to make me be like you!"

And just like that, Patty slapped his sister so hard in the face that she fell on her backside.

All of the Titans gasped, but the blonde boy suddenly looked stricken by his own actions and froze like a marble statue: he stared at his reddened hand, then glanced down at his twin to see that there was a terrified expression in her eyes… tears began to spill down her pale cheeks as she slowly touched the reddening welt on her face. When he held out a shaking hand to help her up, she flinched.

"P-Percy, I-I… I'm so sorry," Patrokalos choked out as the left side of his face also began to turn red. "I… I hit you _that hard?"_

"You… you promised you wouldn't," the blonde girl whispered back, eyes full of fear and pain. "You promised that you wouldn't ever hurt me like the humans did… you said you would protect me… why did you… how could you… lie to me…?"

"I didn't mean to hit you," Patrokalos wailed, frantically touching his stinging cheek. "I really didn't! I'm sorry!"

"I…" Percy whispered, but her face screwed up and she involuntarily burst into tears as her instincts kicked in; futilely rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stop crying, the small blonde girl got up and stumbled over to where Raven was standing with a dumbstruck expression on her face. Still bawling like an infant, the blonde clung to the taller girl so tightly that she didn't even register that she was immediately swept up in Raven's blue cloak.

When Patty looked at them helplessly, the angry look in her violet eyes told him just how wrong his actions had been. Robin's face was blank, Starfire looked both shocked and confused by the boy's actions, and Beast Boy was still unconscious so he wasn't really aware of anything at all.

"I do not understand," Starfire said in confusion, looking first at the crying twin and then the stricken one. "Patty, why did you strike your identical sibling Persephone when any substantial wound given to her will also become your burden to bear?"

"I have a feeling that this is a… family thing, Starfire," Robin stated slowly, looking at the twins. "We should go inside."

"Then I shall carry Friend Beast Boy to his room," Starfire replied, lifting him gently into her arms before flying away.

"Shh…" Raven awkwardly soothed, rubbing Percy's back beneath her cloak. "Don't cry anymore, okay?"

"But he—hic!—promised that he would never h—hic!—hurt me!" Persephone sobbed quietly. "He said he would never, ever make me fe—hiccup!—feel any sort of—hic!—pain since so many people hurt—hic!—the two of us! He lied to me!"

"Yes, he may have broken that promise," Raven stated simply, frowning at Patrokalos. "I understand that he just hurt you, Percy, but you need to remember that he is your identical twin brother. He is the one and only person who knows you better than you know yourself, and I highly doubt that he would have struck you if he didn't care so deeply about your well-being."

"We share a soul, Percy," Patrokalos stated quietly, arms limp and eyes sad, "but that's not why I was so scared. Raven told me the other night that people who share only one soul don't die instantly if the other bearer of the soul dies. They can live up to five years without their other half, if the will to live without that person is strong enough. I… don't think I could go on without you in my life, so if something ever happened and you ended up being taken from me… I'd…"

He didn't finish the statement, but instead looked away as his mouth trembled.

"Your intentions were just and fair," Raven stated calmly, "but you handled the situation in a very negative way."

"I forgive you," Persephone sniffed, stepping out of Raven's embrace and walking over to her brother; when she looked up at him and saw that he was also crying a little, she felt her hurt changing into guilt and hugged him tightly. "We're twins, Pat-Pat… we shouldn't be fighting with each other. I forgive you for hitting me… I still love you, and I'm not scared of you."

When the girl let go and slowly trudged inside, Raven slowly stepped up beside him and watched her leave.

"Is she okay?" Patrokalos asked sadly, watching as Percy she went through the doors. "I feel like a monster right now."

"She'll be fine," Raven muttered, pushing her wet hair behind her ears. "What you did was wrong… but, I can understand why you reacted like that since I actually wanted to do the same thing when she dove off the edge. Anyway, I'm going inside."

Patrokalos slowly followed her back into the Tower, guilt washing over him even more than the downpour.

When Beast Boy opened his eyes several hours later, he was lying on the couch in the main room: the windows showed that it was just getting dark outside, but his vision was blurry and his head hurt. He tried to sit up, but a little hand pressed him back down onto the couch: he recognized that particular touch and slowly relaxed, smiling blissfully as his glazed eyes closed.

"Terra," he murmured quietly; he didn't notice when the touch stilled. "Terra, I really missed you… I'm glad you came."

"Y-you should stay still, Beast Boy… you have a fever and you're hallucinating a little bit," Terra stammered in a much higher voice than he was used to, stroking his cheek with slender fingers. "You… don't still have feelings for me… r-right?"

"Of course I do," Beast Boy immediately mumbled. "I'm kind of confused, though… your little sister has feelings for me, too, and I can't exactly deny that I'm attracted to her because of how much she looks like you, but… well, I'm not exactly sure that I feel the same way about her as I do about you, Terra. I mean, you came all the way back here just to check on me."

"O-of course I did!" Terra squeaked, voice sounding thoroughly shaken for some reason. "I… I love you… after all."

"Couldn't resist the pointy ears, eh?" Beast Boy asked groggily, wiggling his ears. "What time is it?"

"It's just past nine, and the others are out on patrol," Terra's voice replied, soothing him. "I stayed to take care of you."

"D'awww, you're making me blush," Beast Boy sighed, smiling a little. "You can go help them if you want."

"Hush," Terra whispered, placing gentle fingers on his lips and brushing them against his protruding lower fang. He sighed when the girl leaned over him and kissed his burning cheek: quite abruptly, the scent of honeysuckle mixed with cinnamon and vanilla washed over him and he smiled a bit, realizing for the first time how similar sisters could be. Terra smelled exactly like Persephone did, so both girls must have had the same exact taste in their hygiene products; he heard the blonde girl lean back and twitched when she smoothed his sweat-dampened green bangs out of his closed eyes. Beast Boy soon felt something cold and wet against his forehead and figured that Terra was holding a damp rag against his brow. He smiled and gently took her other hand in his, realizing quickly that he wasn't wearing his gloves. He had never touched anyone with his bare hands.

It was because of the scars on them... given from his stay in an African health facility.

He gave her hand one final squeeze before falling into a peaceful slumber: Persephone's lips trembled at everything he had said, but she still bent down and kissed him lightly. He smiled in his sleep and murmured her elder sister's name, which made the girl feel as though her heart were being crushed. Still, she held onto his hand throughout the night and watched over him. The next morning, the Titans returned from guard duty to find Percy sleeping on the floor next to Beast Boy: the blonde girl's head was resting on the couch, and her tiny hand was still clasped tightly around his despite the fact that she was sleeping.

"The drama never ends in this place," Raven said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she left the main room.

"Come on, Raven, you can't deny that it's cute seeing Percy and Beast Boy together like that!" Robin replied, chuckling as he and Starfire followed her down the hall. Cyborg slowly tiptoed over to the couch and stifled a fit of laughter as he prepared to make a loud farting noise, but before he could execute his evil plan Patrokalos's voice rang out from the doorway.

"Don't even think about it, Cyborg," the male angel stated calmly. "Unless, that is, you want me to turn you into an ice sculpture for disturbing my sister and her boyfriend. Because, if that's really the case, go right ahead and wake them up."

The large boy laughed weakly before tiptoeing away, muttering angrily once he was out of sight.

Patty smirked triumphantly and disappeared down the hall.

**TXXXXXT**

It only took Beast Boy two days to recover, but Persephone was right next to him for the entire forty-eight hours. After he had fully recovered, Percy had reluctantly lied to him and explained that Terra had left for some personal reasons: after that, things somewhat returned to normal at the Tower. Aside from a few simple robberies and a misunderstanding with an alien who had accidentally crashed his ship into an abandoned pier, nothing major happened.

That is, until the first day of summer arrived.

"Titans, we've got a call!" Robin exclaimed, bursting into the gym where the other six Titans were training: all of them dropped what they were doing and followed him to the main room. When he went over to the mainframe computer, he typed in a few keys and an enormous image popped up: on the big screen was a video feed from a jewelry store security camera.

"Is that Kate's Jewelers?" Persephone asked, blinking in surprise. "I bought a cute set of earrings there just yesterday!"

"Watch this and tell me what you see," Robin stated, clicking on something and looking up as the tape began to play: all of the Titans watched the video carefully. From what Patty's observant could see, the clerk was sitting behind the counter and looking incredibly bored… but then, the jewelry case next to the counter flew open and every piece of jewelry was gone.

All of the Titans blinked at the same time and stared at the screen.

"Whoa," Patrokalos whistled, blue eyes going wide.

"Took the word right out of my mouth, bro," Persephone scoffed, blonde eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Now, watch it again in slow motion," Robin stated, playing the tape over again: before their eyes, a boy wearing a silver suit ran through the door, opened the case, and took all the jewelry at such a high speed that nobody could really see him.

"Dude, that's not Kid Flash, is it?" Beast Boy asked.

"No," Robin replied, "and we don't know who it is, but we need to find out."

Thus, over the next week and a half, the villain who came to be known as Silver Bullet robbed three more jewelry stores and the Titans weren't even able to see him, let alone stop him. Robin retreated to his room for a day or so and devised a plan. Three days later, in a jewelry shop that was resting in the heart of Jump City, the young clerk sat nervously at the counter: so many robberies had been committed in her opponent's stores, right under their very noses, that the girl had more than enough reason to be nervous.

Suddenly, the door flew open with a bang, seemingly of its own accord: she let out a shriek as a jewelry case near the back flew as well, but the next moment, the door of the shop glowed black and slammed shut. However, all of the jewels abruptly stopped disappearing from the case and a young man appeared suddenly next to the door, dressed in a silver unitard with a black bullet emblazoned on the chest and small silver wings on the sides of his shoes and over his ears.

He wore a mask much like Robin's, but more angular.

He pulled on the door handle to find that it was stuck.

"What the—?" he began, but stopped when a bird-a-rang stuck into the door right next to his hand.

"Looks like you were too slow," Robin stated with a smirk as the boy turned around.

"I'm never too slow," the villain replied, and he disappeared.

"Titans, get ready!" Robin shouted warily, and the instantly Titans settled into their combat positions. However, before any of them knew what was happening, Cyborg was unexpectedly thrown across the room and he smashed through the back wall with a startled shout: his disappearance made a gaping hole, but thankfully the jewelry shop shared a wall with an old, empty warehouse. The Titans rushed into the warehouse after Cyborg: Robin helped the android to his feet while Raven slyly sealed off all the exits.

Silver Bullet suddenly reappeared in the center of the warehouse, facing the Titans with a cocky smirk.

"What's the matter, Titans?" he asked mockingly. "Can't catch me?"

"Harmony Twins, go!" Robin shouted.

"Gotcha!" the blondes called simultaneously before they clasped hands and grinned at each other. Quite impressively, the air teenagers exploded with the sensation of crackling electricity and Robin smirked when he realized that they were planning to use their control over lightning to fuel their super speed. Kid Flash was only able to use his super speed because of the electrical discharges that continuously surged throughout his body and down into the ground through his feet: he'd gotten the power after being struck by a bolt of lightning some several years ago. The twins could _control_ lightning because of their powers, so super speed was a possible power.

"I'll take it slow for the new Titans," Silver Bullet sighed when they landed in front of him. "You could have done better than this cute little blonde girl and her girly little brother, though... seriously, I can't even tell which one is which because of the pretty faces."

"Gee, thanks," Persephone deadpanned, eyes going half-lidded in dismay. "Why are villains constantly flirting with me?"

"Yeah, _you're_ mad because they flirt," Patrokalos boomed, blue eye twitching in fury. "_I'm _pissed because they say I'm _girly."_

"Hey, man, the truth hurts! You're worse than a prissy little dog-carrying _beach babe!"_ Silver Bullet laughed, but when both twins glared at him with murderous intent, he began running backwards. However, he hadn't exactly anticipated their speed: Percy and Patty sprinted forward so fast that they left a bright blue trail of sparks in their wake, and with an acrobatic swing of his arms, Patrokalos swung his twin with both hands and let out a whoop when her toe caught him in the jaw and sent him sprawling across the ground. Not even a second after she got a good footing, the small girl used her gained momentum to swing her brother into the air and let go: the boy flipped high above and twisted on the way down, stretching his foot out in the style of an experienced martial artist.

His boot landed right in the middle of the Silver Bullet's stomach.

"Oh, dear!" Persephone gasped mockingly when her brother flipped backwards and clasped her hand again."What's the matter?"

"Aw, shoot... did you take it _too_ slow?" Patrokalos cooed mocking, one eyebrow raised. "Sheesh, and you thought _I_ was girly?"

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted, desperately trying to fight off a fit of laughter; after that incident, the Silver Bullet didn't underestimate either of the twins any longer and stayed in top speed at all times. They couldn't catch him. Nobody could.

"So, you still think I'm too slow?" Silver Bullet murmured into Percy's ear right before she and her brother were smashed across the room and sent hurtling straight into a wall.

"Oof!" the blonde girl wheezed, falling down to the ground and collapsing to all fours next to her brother. "Owie…"

"That sneaky little bastard really packs a powerful punch," Patrokalos croaked, rubbing his stomach before he looked up and saw the huge indents that he and his sister had made in the concrete wall. "Ouch… did we really hit the wall that hard?"

"Eep!" Starfire squeaked, and she soon hit the ground next to the twins. "Glorgnop, that was very painful… I very much believe that we are fighting a losing battle, Harmony Twins… what shall we do to defeat this evil Silver Bullet?"

"Don't lose heart," Persephone replied, standing up and helping Starfire to her feet.

"There's always hope," Patrokalos added, taking his sister's hand before rejoining the fight: it didn't take very long for the twins to start believing that Starfire was right, though. The Titans kept trying, but they couldn't slow Silver Bullet down… yet, throughout the entire battle, Raven had begun to sense an odd change going on in the minds of the Harmony Twins: the scales of power were shifting slightly, and the longer they fought while holding each other's hands, the more this disturbance grew.

Raven suspected that this battle was going to end in their favor when she felt another surge of godlike power.

For the second time in a row, Persephone and Patrokalos were both thrown against a wall and had the wind knocked out of them and fell to all fours… but this time, neither one of them stood up. Robin, Raven, and Starfire all noticed and paused in the middle of the action with apprehensive eyes… but as they were watching, the twins lifted their heads with startling speed and opened their eyes at the same: they were glowing bright green and their pupils had retracted into identical catlike slits.

Raven gasped as an enormous surge of power erupted from the twins' minds, and she hunched her shoulders to brace herself when their shoulder-length blonde hair rippled like water and grew out at a rapid pace: the twins slowly stood up, glowing eyes staring vacantly ahead as two colossal sets of iridescent silver wings exploded out of their backs in a spray of green fire.

When the twins let out a sharp musical note, their catlike eyes shone blindingly and they each extended a hand toward the center of the room before clasping their other hands in each other's grips. Their long blonde hair rippled backwards as the energy inside them increased to a raging velocity, but their joined palms began glowing bright green before the light traveled up to their outstretched fingertips. Quite suddenly, an invisible shockwave blasted out of their hands and spread to the outer reaches of the room: when the twins lowered their hands, the battlefield was frozen… completely suspended in time itself.

"Time," Persephone whispered, eyes vacant with shock. "Patty, we can control _time."_

"How is this possible?" Patrokalos whispered, looking around in awe before he touched his waist-length blonde hair and groaned in dismay. "Ugh… I'm gonna need to ask Cyborg to cut my hair a little earlier than expected. I actually do look like a girl now."

"Oh, shut up!" Persephone muttered absently, eyes large in amazement. "Raven likes long-haired boys, you know."

While Patty was blinking stupidly and mulling over that little tidbit of information, Percy looked around in awe.

She slowly walked over to Raven, who was held suspended in the air with her palms raised as she uttered her incantation. Cyborg was in the middle of shooting his sonic cannon in the general direction of Silver Bullet. Beast Boy was frozen halfway through transforming into a cheetah, and Robin was crouched down next to Starfire, helping her to her feet: she had been smashed into the floor. Then there was the Silver Bullet, racing toward Robin and Starfire with a cocky smirk on his face: Patty watched with a cocked eyebrow as his twin walked up to the villain and cautiously eyed him. Feeling uncharacteristically brave, the small girl poked him experimentally before jumping away with a squeal: nothing happened, and he didn't even budge.

The blonde girl smiled wickedly and waved her brother over.

"Stand just across from me and mirror my movements," she giggled maniacally. "This will be a trip. Literally."

"You're so evil…" Patty snorted, rolling his eyes with an amused snicker. "Let's do this."

Both twins each stuck a leg in front of the boy's ankles and touched each other's toes: the moment their uniform boots made contact with each other, a crackling green light sparked between them and time started up again with another shock wave of colorless energy. Silver Bullet disappeared again only to trip over the feet of both twins: he went flying straight over Robin and Starfire before sliding across the ground and crashing headfirst into the wall with a yelp. Patty and Percy clasped each other's hands once again before jumping high into the air, propelling themselves using a burst of highly-compressed wind.

After flexibly flipping their grips on each other's wrists, Patty swung his sister's body up and over his head before flipping her and throwing her toward the Silver Bullet, allowing her to kick a wall of water right on him; when the small girl landed on the ground, she rolled to her feet and spun around before grabbing her brother's hands and swinging him at the villain. The boy immediately performed an airborne spin kick and sent a gale of arctic air at his opponent, freezing him to the ground.

The twins beamed at each other before sharing a triumphant high-five.

"We give you, _not_ the Silver Bullet," Persephone called theatrically, taking her brother's hand.

"but the new, _not_ improved, _Leadsicle,"_ Patrokalos finished, and both of them bowed, long blonde hair sliding over their shoulders like glossy satin curtains. Raven and Beast Boy had different reactions: the pale empath stared with startled eyes before her lips tightened and she abruptly looked away with a tiny hitch in her breath; the green-skinned teen merely drooled.

"How did you do that?" Robin asked incredulously. "You weren't anywhere near him, and you look… different!"

"We… learned how to control time," Persephone said quietly.

"Or, at least we learned how to finally bring it out," Patrokalos amended. "I didn't even know we could control it."

"Time," Raven stated, eyes widening in sheer and utter surprise. "Wow, I wasn't even expecting that."

"Says the girl who doesn't have to deal with it," Persephone giggled, shrugging a bit when the empath glared good-naturedly.


	17. Chapter 16: A Different Kind of Betrayal

**Chapter Sixteen: A Different Kind of Betrayal**

When the door of the main room unexpectedly opened, Percy, Patty, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire all looked up from playing a game called Tag Team Karate Match 3000 and Raven glanced up from her book. When Robin slowly walked into the room, looking distinctly disgruntled, Starfire abandoned her Gamestation controller and flew to his side.

"Robin, do you wish to join us in a game of 'button-mashing'?" she asked.

"The game is called Tag Team Karate Match 3000!" Beast Boy shouted indignantly.

"That may be the title, but it's still a brainless button-masher," Patrokalos quietly replied, tossing his own controller aside with a lazy yawn as the word 'WINNER' flashed across the screen. Beast Boy grumbled angrily under his breath for a while.

"Robin? Is there something wrong?" Starfire asked worriedly; he was staring straight ahead with a dazed look on his face, and it seemed as though he hadn't heard a single word of what had just taken place. The alien girl instantly placed a worried hand across his forehead, looking a little unnerved by his blank behavior. "Have you somehow contracted 'the hay fever' again?"

Robin snapped out of his reverie when he felt her touch him.

"What was the question?" he asked; Starfire took a step back, looking startled by his inquiry.

By this time, all of the Titans were staring at him.

"There's no use pretending nothing's wrong, so spill," Raven said uninterestedly from behind her book.

When the other Titans looked expectantly at their leader, he sighed and looked at his feet.

"I just got an email from my old mentor, Bruce Wayne," he stated dully, and that alone got their attention. "He's having a fancy party tonight, and he wants me to come to it. He told me that it's a mandatory invitation… but I don't know if I should."

"It sounds like fun," Persephone chirped, getting up and moving over to where Raven was sitting; the pale girl instantly shifted slightly to allow the blonde to join in with her reading, not taking her eyes of the book as she did so.

"You should go," Patrokalos added, looking at Robin with soft blue eyes. "I think it would be good for you."

"That's not all, though," Robin hollowly admitted. "He wants all of you to come, too… he wants to meet the team."

"Oh, glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, beaming brightly at Persephone when the blonde girl blinked in surprise..

"Alright!" Beast Boy squawked, clapping his hands. "Party central!"

"You mean… you guys want to come?" Robin asked, looking amazed before he glanced at the empath. "Even you, Raven?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Raven asked, flicking her violet eyes up and looking at him over the top of her book. "As long as Patrokalos is coming, I wouldn't mind going to this... party. In fact, I'm more partial to high-class dances than raves and clubs. I might enjoy myself if Bruce Wayne is hosting this thing."

"I just… didn't think these fancy shindigs were anything you guys would be interested in," Robin admitted.

"What is a 'shindig'?" Starfire asked in **confusion.**

**TXXXXXT**

Two days later, the night of the dance had arrived… and Robin was soon knocking on Starfire's door.

"Star?" he called, feeling apprehensive. "You ready to go?"

"Yes, I am ready!" a muffled voice called from inside the room.

However, when the door opened, Robin couldn't stop staring and his shoulders slowly stiffened for a moment: he didn't often see Starfire out of uniform, but when he did he treasured the experience. If Robin had cared to remember what Kitten had been wearing on the night of their forced date, he would have realized that Starfire's dress was nearly identical to Kitten's: strapless and floor length… but it was purple. She was wearing the same gloves from that unpleasant evening; Starfire smiled at the gaping look on Robin's face.

"You look quite nice," she said quietly, admiring his tux.

"S-so do you!" Robin stammered. "I mean, you look gorgeous right now!"

"Thank you," Starfire giggled, blushing beet red before she smiled and took his arm. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah… aside from the Harmony Twins, everyone is waiting for us in the main room," Robin replied.

With that, they walked down the hall to the main room. Once they were there, Robin cocked an eyebrow and smirked when he noticed that Beast Boy was wearing a highly-disused white tux with a red ribbon, and Cyborg was dressed in a simple tuxedo. Raven, on the other hand, was dressed in a sleeveless blue gown with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders, However, the conversation he'd just walked in on in time to overhear made him stiffen a in surprise, and he soon shared a worried glance with Starfire. The alien girl looked totally stunned by what she'd just heard... then positively _angry._

"That is a terrible thing to say!" she squeaked in outrage. "You must not be so fickle, Beast Boy!"

"It's true, BB... you need to stop comparing Persephone to Terra," Cyborg sighed in exasperation. "They're two different people, man so if you're only dating Percy because she looks like her older sister… stop it. I mean, it's not fair to either one of them."

"It's not my fault," Beast Boy complained, staring at the ceiling with unhappy eyes. "I'm excited to see what she'll be wearing, but at the same time I can't help but picture Terra's face… then I start wondering what Terra would look like."

"You're nuts all right," Raven snorted. "It's a very mean thing to be doing to… never mind. They're coming in right now."

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," a soft voice murmured, catching everyone's attention.

The eyes of everyone in the room widened when Patrokalos and Persephone slowly walked into the common room with their hands interlaced. Patrokalos was wearing an old-fashioned button-up shirt with a sharp-looking brown vest that had a French ribbon fastened at his throat, and a pair of starched jet-black trousers stretched down the length of his long legs. His waist-length blonde hair had been tied back into a casual ponytail, his electric blue eyes were sharp, and looked utterly handsome. Persephone was wearing an iridescent gown the color of warm gold, her long blonde hair had been braided off to the side and was currently draped over her left shoulder like a glossy rope, and there was a beautiful gemstone choker fastened around her slender throat.

Raven's violet eyes widened at the sight of Patrokalos, and she immediately put a hand to her mouth before she caught her actions and put her expressionless mask back on; she stared at Patty with a blank look for several moments, blinking a dazed manner when he moved forward and silently held out his hand, blue eyes dancing. After a moment, she took it... and he smiled the goofy little grin that somehow always managed to make her cheeks burn. Beast Boy, on the other hand, merely stared at Persephone in awe and watched with glazed eyes as the ivory-skinned girl shyly clasped her small hands together. She moved toward him with flowing movements.

"Wow," the changeling whispered, heart leaping into his throat when the girl looked up at him through her blonde lashes. "Dude... you look amazing."

"I… I do?" Persephone asked, electric blue eyes lighting up with such a beautiful smile that everyone stared in surprise. "You really mean it?"

"Yeah!" Beast Boy confirmed, nodding so eagerly that Patrokalos laughed. "You look… beautiful!"

"We're wearing our birth-parents' old dance clothes," Patty chuckled, not taking into account how everyone jumped and stared at the two of them in confusion and surprise. "Only six pieces of clothing were salvaged from our old home when it exploded… but our neighbors saved all of our parents' remaining belongings, just in case we ever came back. When we showed up, everyone gave us the clothes along with a few other things."

"That outfit looks like it was made for _you,_ though," Raven stated quietly, eying him out of the corner of her eye.

"Then… that probably means I'm the spitting image of my father," Patty murmured, eyes softening in a bittersweet way. "That makes me happy."

"Uwaaaah! Starfire, you look so pretty in that dress!" Persephone exclaimed, bouncing over to the girl and touching her outfit with amazed hands. "Wow… this is the first time I've ever seen you not wear one of your purple Titan outfits! You're amazing!"

"Friend Persephone," Starfire giggled happily, eying the naive blonde's shimmering outfit with admiring green eyes, "you are just as radiant as I am... but I still thank you for the compliments. I admire the color of your clothing selection, too: it makes you look positively glorious."

"Raven," Patrokalos whispered into the empath's ear, "you look so stunning in that dress that my heart almost stopped when I walked through the door."

"Thanks," the girl replied, speaking in a no-nonsense tone even though her cheeks were immediately tinged rosy with an embarrassed blush.

"All right, let's go!" Robin chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Star and I will ride the R Cycle; the rest of you are in the T Car."

Thus, only a short ride later, the Titans arrived at Wayne manor and stopped before the front doors.

"Yo!" Cyborg said, awestruck by the sheer size of the place. "This place is the size of a castle!"

"Man, Robin, you sure lived it up before you were a Titan!" Beast Boy muttered, shooting him a look; Robin ignored them and rang the bell, but it was opened by a familiar face to black-haired youth.

"Good evening, Master Grayson," Alfred said, bowing.

"Alfred!" Robin exclaimed, breaking into a huge grin and shaking the butler's hand. "Nice to see you again!"

The Titans slowly walked in behind Robin, but Persephone felt small among the beautiful spires of the manor; the small girl instinctively pressed herself close to Beast Boy's arm without noticing how he stiffened and blushed. The ballroom was full of adults, and a live orchestra was playing in the background, so all of the Titans soon felt very out of place.

"Dick!" someone called; none other than Bruce Wayne walked up to Robin and shook his hand.

"How have you been?" Robin asked, face becoming a little hard. "Bruce…"

"Great, thank you," the tall man replied.

"I'd like to introduce you to the Titans," Robin said, gesturing at his friends. "The group that somehow became my family."

"Family, huh?" Bruce asked, looking at them thoughtfully.

"This is Victor Stone," Robin explained, gesturing toward Cyborg. "We call him Cyborg because of his abilities."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne," Cyborg said in an awed voice before shaking Bruce's hand.

"Rachel Roth, from Azarath," Robin continued, motioning toward Raven. "We've been _told_ to call her Raven."

"Pleased to meet you," the pale girl deadpanned; Patty tried to look like he wasn't jealous when Bruce kissed her hand.

"Garfield Logan," Robin sighed, shooting the changeling a glance. "We just call him Beast Boy."

"Cool digs Mr. Wayne!" Beast Boy exclaimed, looking around the ballroom interestedly.

"The twins are Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius," Robin explained before gesturing at the twins, who tried not to flinch when the man blinked in surprise and stared at them with a piercing expression. "We call them Patty and Percy, the Harmony Twins."

"Charmed," Patrokalos sighed, rolling his eyes when Bruce bent and kissed his sister's hand as well.

"And this," Robin sighed, smiling at Starfire, "is Koriand'r, princess of Tamaran. We call her Starfire."

"I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Wayne," Starfire said, giving him a dazzling smile; Bruce bent and kissed her hand.,

"The pleasure is all mine, Princess," he murmured; Starfire and Robin both blushed a little, but Robin was thinking he needn't have told Bruce that Starfire was a princess. Patrokalos shot him a sympathetic glance and sighed in dismay.

"Please, enjoy the party," Bruce stated simply before walking away. After that, most of the Titans went their separate ways: Percy, Starfire, and Raven all went to a corner to people-watch; Cyborg, Patty, and Beast Boy decided to go looking for secret passages behind coats of armor; and Robin slipped out of the ballroom when he thought nobody was looking. He knew the halls of Wayne manor like the back of his hand, so he found his old bedroom quickly.

It hadn't changed much; he sighed.

"Do you… wish you still lived here?" a voice asked timidly from the door; Robin whipped around and saw that Starfire had followed him.

"Of course not!" Robin said quickly; when Starfire looked at him warily, he sighed again and sat down on the edge of his old bed. Starfire carefully sat next to him. "I miss the place sometimes, that much is true… but I left all of it behind because I wanted to be free of this life. I love being a Titan, and besides… if I still lived here, I never would have met you."

Starfire placed a hand on the back of his head and pulled him gently into a kiss. As soon as they had both closed their eyes, they heard someone clear their throat at the door; they broke apart and saw Bruce leaning against the door frame.

"I see you found your old room easily," Bruce said with a hint of a smile; Starfire blushed furiously.

"I believe I should return to the ballroom," she muttered quickly, slipping out the door past Bruce.

"Way to go, Bruce," Robin mumbled resentfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't realize you two were having a 'moment'," Bruce Wayne snorted, sounding slightly Raven-ish in his sarcasm. "I hope you don't get angry at criminals for wrecking your chances of getting kissed by a pretty girl these days."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Robin shot back, not at all liking the direction this conversation was going in.

"You shouldn't waste your time on crushes," Bruce retorted..

"This isn't a crush! Star and I are… I mean we're…" Robin huffed, struggling to find the right words. "It's more than that!"

"So, you're in love with her?" the man inquired, cocking an eyebrow. "You actually love this girl?"

"Yes," Robin retorted; he thought he had won the argument, but he hadn't.

"Love is dangerous in our line of work," Bruce stated in a low voice. "I'd hoped you would have learned that by now."

"I'm not going to make the same mistake you did," Robin replied, being careful to keep the anger from his voice. "I would never let anything happen to her, and even if I were to slip up, she's perfectly capable of defending herself."

"You say that now," the man pressed, "but are you sure?"

"Yes! I'm sure!" Robin snapped, standing up quickly and glaring at him with angry eyes. "This is exactly why I left here in the first place, Bruce! You never tried to let me live my life! I love Starfire, so I _will_ be with her no matter _what_ you say."

"Good answer," Bruce stated slowly, looking his charge in the eye with a cold expression, "but we have yet to see."

With that comment, Bruce turned from the door and left in the direction of the ballroom.

Meanwhile, back at the party, Persephone was rather enjoying herself just drifting through the crowd, but she wanted to find Beast Boy to see if he wanted to dance with her. No teenage boys were hitting on her, no fans jumped-up fans were begging for autographs, no villain hordes were trying to kill her. Just a classy dance with people who had manners. The girl glanced over her shoulder and giggled when she saw her brother dancing with Raven. When she turned back around and spotted a familiar flash of green, she beamed and headed toward Beast Boy. However, the sight that met her eyes nearly turned her heart into a solid block of ice… although, for some reason, she really didn't understand why at first. Her mind wasn't really comprehending why her heart felt as though it were breaking into pieces… because there was no possible way she was really seeing what she was seeing. It wasn't possible, it just couldn't be... but there it was.

Persephone stopped dead, shoulders slowly going limp as her eyes went wide with pain.

For some unfathomable reason, her older sister Terra was kissing Beast Boy.

And he was letting her.

Across the room, both Raven and Patrokalos froze as the surge of incredible pain slammed into them: then the same sight met their eyes, and Patrokalos spluttered in shock.

"What the heck is Terra doing here?" he squawked, horrified and angered. "Better yet, why is she lip-locking with my twin's _boyfriend?!"_

"Oh, my God…" Raven whispered, violet eyes slowly becoming huge. "Why is she…? This isn't…! But they aren't…!"

Patrokalos glanced at his twin and froze when he saw the tears: Percy was so close to breaking down that he figured she was going to use her powers in order to escape. Which wasn't exactly a mistaken assumption. Persephone didn't know what to do, so she did the first thing that popped into her head: she slowly lifted her hand and froze time before bolting out of the room and fleeing the party. Patty, the only person who hadn't been frozen, watched her go before he looked down at his frozen date.

Raven's face was locked in an utterly rare expression of sympathy.

"What are you doing here?" Patrokalos whispered, looking back at his frozen older sister; however, when he stretched his senses out to his twin, he realized that she was leaning against a wall just outside in the hallway: only a second later, she let her energy dissolve and time returned to normal around him. Raven blinked when she realized that Persephone had vanished and Patrokalos had shifted his body in an abnormally rapid way. Percy slowly slid down the wall and sat on the floor, burying her face in her hands as the tears slowly slid down her face: she was trying to figure out what to do, because Beast Boy had told her that he loved her… but she had just seen him kissing her older sister. Which was strange in itself, now that she had time to think about it: why had Terra been invited to the party in the first place?

She didn't hear it when someone hovered down the hall since no footsteps touched the ground.

"Percy?" a soft voice asked; the blonde flinched and looked up to see Starfire hovering right above her.

"Where were you?" the blonde girl asked, quickly wiping away any trace of tears.

"I was with Robin," Starfire replied, no longer embarrassed to talk about Robin with her. "Why are you out here?"

"Terra… is in there," Persephone replied in a shaky tone, trying to sound like she wasn't upset when Starfire stared at her.

"Was she not traveling the world on a sight-seeing trip?" the alien asked in surprise.

"Yes, so I don't know why she's here," Percy whined, rubbing her eyes as the image of Terra and Beast Boy making out once again assaulted her mind. Starfire became concerned since she hadn't seen Percy this distressed in a long time.

"Would you… like me to go find out why she is here?" Starfire asked hesitantly. "I know you did not part on bad terms, but I also understand that things in your family might be very… tense right now. So, if you wish, I will speak to her for you."

"You'd do that for me?" Percy asked, sounding depressed but a little surprised.

"Of course! What are friends for?" Starfire asked, smiling at her sympathetically. Persephone sniffled and nodded before she buried her face in her hands once again: the alien girl didn't know that she was only upset because of what she had seen her older sister doing with the boy she loved, not the fact that she was simply attending the party. She would have been happy.

"You betrayed me again, Terra," Perspehone whispered to herself, slowly breaking down into tears. "Why do you enjoy hurting me so much?"

Starfire, meanwhile, landed on the ground and walked up to Bruce: the man was speaking with Terra and Beast Boy, who looked to be over-the-moon happy for some reason. She blinked at his expression a few times before looking at Bruce again.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Wayne?" she asked, feeling a bit hesitant when Terra glanced at her in surprise.

"Yes, Princess?" the man inquired, turning to look at her.

"Do you know where Robin is?" the girl asked, barely managing to mask how much she detested being called 'Princess'.

"I think he's still in his room," Bruce said pointedly, then he turned to Terra; the blonde girl smirked at her. "Starfire, you've met Terrahalia, haven't you? She's actually the reason why I invited you and your friends to this party tonight. She told me that her younger brother and sister were living with the Titans, so I invited you all here."

"Well, I'd do anything for my siblings," the blonde girl stated piously, giving a little shrug and folding her hands together; she was dressed in a baby blue mini-dress that fit her slender frame like a glove, and Beast Boy was literally ogling her with dazed green eyes. Starfire looked at the elder blonde girl with confused eyes when she lazily looked at the changeling and put a flirtatious hand on his shoulder; the boy immediately grinned and blushed a dark shade of green, ears sticking straight out.

"Hello, Terra," Starfire murmured, eying the spot where Terra was touching Beast Boy with confused eyes. "I'm a bit surprised to see you… I thought you were traveling."

Terra instantly became silent, wondering what to say; Beast Boy and Starfire looked at her questioningly.

"Well, um…" the blonde girl began awkwardly, but suddenly, someone grabbed her arm; Terra turned around and found herself looking at the pale face Persephone, who seemed rather angry since she was glaring daggers. "Whoa! Little Sis, you look totally _hot!_ Where'd you get that dress and where can I buy one?!"

"Never mind the dress, Terra," Percy murmured, shooting a shattered look at Beast Boy; the changeling had turned white the moment he'd seen her face, and right now he looked as though he'd seen a ghost. "Sis, we really need to have a talk… okay?"

"Uh… okay?" Terra asked, and with that she was dragged through the crowd; Bruce stared after them.

"What was that about?" the man asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Sibling rivalry?"

"I do not know," Starfire replied, feeling a little mystified by the response herself since she hadn't seen Terra kiss her green-skinned friend; she glanced at Beast Boy, who still looked pale and stricken, then turned to the man and let out a confused sigh. "I shall… go find Robin now. Thank you Mr. Wayne."

She then slowly walked back into the hall and made her way to Robin's room, watching over her shoulder as Percy dragged Terra down the hall in the opposite direction. The moment the three girls were gone, though, Raven slowly approached Beast Boy with a scary-looking expression on her face and stood in front of him with shaking shoulders. Patrokalos was watching from the sidelines, but before anyone could say anything, Raven's eyes flashed white and she slapped the changeling across the face.

The room instantly went dead quiet.

"You were the one who broke her heart the worst," the pale girl stated coldly, glaring daggers at him when he slowly brought a hand up to touch his cheek; without saying another word, Raven turned away and walked back to Patty with an angry expression in her eyes.

"What's going on here?" Bruce asked, glancing at the stunned green-skinned boy. "Did I miss something crucial? Because I feel as though this is a puzzle."

"I… just did something very wrong, that's what," Beast Boy muttered blankly, "and I didn't even think twice about it."

Persephone pulled Terra out onto the balcony and let go of her arm, staring at her fiercely.

"Well?" the tiny blonde girl asked simply, staring up at her sister's tanned face with expectant eyes.

"Well _what?"_ the elder girl asked, looking at her polished nails in a bored way.

_"Why_ are you _here?"_ Percy snapped, shoulders stiffening at her sister's nonchalant attitude.

"I got invited," Terra retorted, cocking an eyebrow and smugly folding her arms. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, but the fact that _you_ put your _lips_ on my boyfriend _is!"_ Percy cried, eyes filling with tears. "You _knew,_ so _why?!"_

"It's a free country, little sister," Terra scoffed, rolling her eyes in a way that reminded her sickeningly of Blackfire. "I happen to have a thing for Beast Boy, too, so I think I should be able to indulge in that whenever I feel like it. I mean, it's not like _he_ was opposed to me kissing him... and _he's_ your _boyfriend."_

It took everything in Percy's heart not to slap her sister in the face.

"Why… are you _here?"_ Percy asked in a low voice, shoulders shaking as she fought back the urge to cry.

"I met Bruce about a month ago when I was traveling through Upstate New York," Terra deadpanned, shrugging her shoulders with a smug sigh. "He actually met me because I killed a mutated bug that exploded from a sewer-pipe with my powers over the earth. Apparently, he thought I had a lot of raw potential or something, so he offered to adopt me and I accepted it. He's my mentor now, so he's teaching me all of his secrets. Pretty soon, I'll know all of the fighting techniques that Robin does."

"He… he did _what?"_ Persephone squeaked, staring at her older sister in shock. "Bruce Wayne is your adopted _dad?!"_

"Yep, I got a new foster parent," Terra laughed, smiling at her sister with a smug expression. "He's also fairly lenient with his credit card."

"What _are_ you?!" Percy shrieked, stomping her foot. "A leech, or just some crazy _Robin_ wannabe?!"

"Neither. I have skills, so he's training me," Terra retorted, smile turning into a nasty glare. "Is it really so hard to believe?"

"No, not really, considering your an _angel,"_ Persephone snapped, electric blue eyes wide with outrage as she stared at her sister's sneer, "but it _is_ hard for me to believe you're being so cruel on purpose after everything you did to Patty and me! You apologized to us when you left, Terra… you said you were sorry! So, _why?!"_

"Because I just don't care anymore... I got what I wanted and so did you. Oh, and did you actually think I felt _sorry_ for you?" the girl snorted, glaring in surprise. "I had my own problems to deal with, and yeah, I may have made your lives a lot worse, but _I've_ never thought of you _or_ Patty as my siblings. Our parents never even _wanted_ you!"

And just like that, Persephone's heart cracked right down the middle and Patrokalos stormed onto the balcony.

"You'd better take that back, Terra," the blonde boy hissed, staring at Persephone with pained blue eyes when she stumbled backwards and clutched at her chest with a startled expression on her face. "You know that's not true! Our parents loved all three of us!"

"Wrong," Terra snorted, glaring at her brother. "They would have gotten an abortion if there hadn't been complications. I read Mom's diary."

"You're lying…" Percy whispered, slowly shaking her head as silent tears spilled down her cheeks. "They loved us."

"Believe what you want," Terra sighed, shrugging in a disinterested way. "I really don't care either way."

"I… I _won't_ believe it," Persephone sniffled before running past her sister and bolting inside with a sob; her brother watched her go.

"Terra... you're a worse monster than Slade," the blonde boy stated in a vacant tone, staring at the girl in a detached manner before he slowly turned around and blankly stumbled off of the balcony; that statement was the only thing that could have made Terra feel sick to her stomach, and she instantly burned bright red in anger. Percy darted through the crowd, frantically trying to escape from everyone: she stumbled off in a random direction once she was in the hallway again, blindly covering her eyes.

She was hurting so badly that the emotional pain had rendered her unable to see anything. She was blind. Alone in the dark.

When someone grabbed her and tried to pull her back, she fought against him and struggled to get free. However, she was merely jerked backwards and pulled down to the ground. Patrokalos eventually managed to make her sit down with him on the floor in an alcove behind a suit of armor, but she was still struggling to get free and crying her eyes out with silent sobs. Her blue eyes were vacant with pain and she was crying hysterically as she tried to get away, but he refused to let her leave in her current state. When two women who had been leaving the party stopped and stared at them, Patrokalos merely covered his sister's eyes with a gentle hand and glared daggers at them; the silent tears continued running down his twin sister's cheeks.

"If you don't value your lives," the boy stated in a warning tone, "I suggest you stop staring at us right now and go away."

"What happened to her?" one of the women asked, looking sympathetic and worried. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't _know,"_ Patrokalos hissed out, glaring at the women angrily even when tears started sliding down his own cheeks. "I really don't know if _either_ of us will be okay after this… I don't. Now, just... go away and let sleeping dogs lie. Forget you saw us crying here and things may go back to normal. Please... leave us alone..."

And just like that, he burst into tears right along with his twin.

**TXXXXXT**

Three days later the Titans had returned home and a semblance of normality had descended upon them... aside from the fact that Beast Boy had been absent from the group. Unfortunately, Robin brought up a touchy subject during breakfast.

"Bruce told me he has a new student," the Boy Wonder mentioned, "but I was surprised when he told me it was Terra."

Persephone had just taken a drink of her orange juice and choked into her glass; the other Titans stared when she stood up quickly and bolted out of the room at the mentioning of her elder sister. Patrokalos instantly stood up and attempted to cover for her.

"Hey, uh, we just remembered that we have to do that… um… thing," the blonde boy said vaguely, trying to make something up and failing miserably before he rushed out of the room. "We'll… see you guys later. Thanks for breakfast!"

"I believe I must… go as well!" Starfire said hurriedly, flying after the twins at top speed.

"That wasn't weird," Raven said sarcastically, returning to her tea; Robin cocked an eyebrow before he got up and followed Starfire. After a few moments, he found her sitting on the roof and staring dejectedly out at the water.

"What was that all about?" he asked, sitting down next to her. "Where did the twins run off to?"

"I cannot tell you, and I do not know," Starfire mumbled, avoiding his eyes. "I thought they would be up here, myself."

Robin smiled a little, raising an eyebrow.

"You can't tell me?" he asked quietly, smiling mischievously and leaning toward her. "Not even if I asked nicely?"

Starfire laughed, trying and failing to sound exasperated; she leaned back slightly and placed her fingers on his lips.

"Not even if you asked nicely," she replied, smiling in spite of herself.

"We promised that we wouldn't keep secrets from each other," he mumbled past her fingers.

"It is not my secret to give," Starfire replied, still laughing; she finally had to resort to holding Robin back by his hair, but the boy merely reached forward and started tickling her. Starfire abruptly shrieked and let go of his hair, laughing hysterically as he tackled her to the roof and continued tickling her. It was little known to her friends, but the girl was extremely ticklish.

"No, no, stop!" she cried between gasps for air and gales of laughter.

"Okay," Robin replied with a grin; he stopped tickling her, but instead he leaned down toward her again. They were only inches apart when the roof access door opened, so they both looked over quickly.

"Starfire? Is it okay if I talk to y—EEEP!" Persephone took one look at Robin straddling Starfire's stomach and abruptly clapped both hands to her eyes, extremely pale face turning bright red. "Oh, God… I'm so sorry, I… um… I didn't mean to, uh, interrupt you guys, so… I'll just… um, go now."

The blonde girl abruptly turned around and fled, but they heard her embarrassed squealing coming from the stairway only a few minutes later and blinked when they realized she was freaking out. Robin and Starfire looked at each other when they heard the girl run off and laughed; then Robin leaned back down… but Starfire stopped him with her hand again.

"I am still not going to tell you," she said quietly.

"I know," Robin stated with smile.


	18. Chapter 17: Raven's Outburst

**Chapter Seventeen: Raven's Outburst**

The next day, Terra showed up for a surprise visit: the twins had looked so shocked it had drawn a lot of attention.

Beast Boy, on the other hand, looked kind of uncertain about what to do until Terra plopped down next to him and flashed one of the grins that usually made him fall over with a sigh. After that, the two of them watched a movie with Robin, Starfire, Patty, and Cyborg. Percy was sitting at the counter behind the couch with a book that Raven had let her borrow the other day, hands shaking as she fought to keep a smile in place. Raven herself was watching the blonde girl from the sidelines, unknowingly going through her emotions and thoughts with narrowed eyes: she then glanced at Beast Boy with a furious expression.

However, the empath glanced over at Persephone when she reverently closed her book and stood up, long hair swirling around her torso as she turned and looked right at the empath with trouble blue eyes. Everyone sitting on the couch was laughing and chatting about the movie they were watching, so she took advantage of that distraction to make her way over to where Raven was sitting. The pale girl scooted over on the loveseat and watched as when Percy gently plopped down on it.

When the blonde girl looked at Beast Boy and Terra with pain in her eyes, Raven sighed and leaned against the cushion.

"What is love?" Persephone asked quietly, drawing her knees up to her chin. "I thought… at first…it was all sunshine and daisies because of how happy I was… but now it feels as though my heart is being shredded… no, more like burned."

"I don't think love is just a walk in the park," Raven said slowly, trying to keep her anger with Beast Boy out of her voice for Persephone's sake. She had been irritated with the changeling in the past, that much was true, but she had never before been this angry with him: Raven never would have believed he was so inconsiderate if she hadn't been seeing that he was with her own two eyes. Being oblivious could only give you so much grace...

"Don't you… know what it's like?" Percy asked, looking at her brother. "I mean... Patrokalos… has a thing for you. A big one. And I know you like him"

"I feel… pleasant around him," Raven said simply, blushing beet red despite herself. "However, I don't understand _why_ yet, so only time will tell. I personally believe that love is like… achieving a perfect sense of balance. There is light, and there is darkness… there is happiness, and there is pain. Love has two sides of everything: it can be wonderful if it's accepted… but if not, there is no everlasting bliss."

The two girls fell silent for a moment.

"It… it hurts for me to see him love Terra," Percy whispered, hiding her eyes, "but… seeing him happy… it's confusing."

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I mean…" Persephone giggled, looking up at the ceiling as she fought back tears, "I love seeing him so happy, but at the same time I wish it was me who was making him smile. I want him to be happy, but knowing that he's _happiest_ with the girl who betrayed my brother and me, the girl who doesn't even consider us to be part of her family… makes me feel like I'm dying inside."

"I see," Raven muttered, frowning and withdrawing deeper into her hood. "What he's doing is wrong."

Both girls looked up when Beast Boy and Terra walked out of the room, laughing loudly; Persephone sighed and closed her shimmering electric blue eyes, leaning her head back against the couch in defeat. Two tears trickled down her cheeks.

"I don't know what to believe right now," she whispered, slowly getting to her feet and walking to her brother's bedroom: he would be in there later, and he definitely wouldn't mind since it was her. She wanted to talk to him, anyway. Later that same day, just after the sun had slipped below the horizon and Terra had once again set off for Wayne Manor, Raven was jerked out of her meditation by a knock on her bedroom door.

"I'm a little busy!" the empath called, feeling distinctly annoyed. "Who is it?"

"It's me!" Beast Boy's voice answered. "I need to talk to you!"

"Fine, come in," Raven sighed, scowling in anger when Beast Boy walked in; he looked a little nervous.

"Um… Raven?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck with uneasy eyes.

"Yes?" the empath droned, stared at him with an expressionless face.

"I… you know a couple hours ago?" he stammered, obviously struggling to find words. "When Terra was here? Well… I just passed by Patty's room… and I heard Percy crying, and Patty was talking to her… about... stuff."

Raven's eyes snapped up to Beast Boy's face and she glared at him so fiercely that Beast Boy considered running for it.

"What did you hear?" Raven said quietly, every syllable sharp with anger.

"I heard that Terra said some… things to them when she was… you know… at the dance?" Beast Boy admitted, trailing off with an unpleasant expression on his face. Raven felt no remorse over Beast Boy's self-pity; in fact, she was majorly pissed because that night he had actually kissed Terra right in front of Persephone without thinking about his actions. Judging by his emotions, he didn't even realize how badly that had hurt the blonde girl.

"And?" Raven inquired: that one word was so cold that the entire room seemed to drop a few degrees.

"That was all," he said truthfully. "I didn't hear anything else, I swear."

Raven closed her eyes, taking a very deep breath through her nose: she was determined not to do something she'd regret.

"I want to know what Terra said to them," Beast Boy continued. "She couldn't have meant it."

Raven opened her eyes in disbelief: she had felt a strange emotion surge from him.

"What did she tell you when you left the common room?" she abruptly demanded, eyes narrowing. "Terra, I mean."

"None of your business…" Beast Boy grumbled, moodily glaring at the wall.

"Oh, but I get the feeling that it _is_ my business," Raven stated in a cold tone of voice. "And if it _isn't,_ then I'm _making_ it my business. I want to know what you two did or talked about after you left the common room, this instant. Right now. So speak up, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy grumbled something inaudible.

"Beast Boy, don't try me," Raven said sharply. "You're not going to freak my… _little sister_ out like that and get off easy. And before you say anything, yes: I _am_ that close with Percy, so if you mess with _her,_ you're gonna deal with _me."_

"Back off, Rachel!" Beast Boy snapped, turning on her so abruptly that Raven was nearly knocked off balance. "I already told you, this has nothing to do with you! All I want to know is what Terra told them! I want to know why they were crying in Patty's room a little while ago!"

Raven stared at him so coldly that he immediately knew he had just made a mistake.

"First of all… _never_ call me Rachel," Raven said in a deadly quiet voice. "Ever. I never should have told Robin, but he went through my background history and wanted to confirm when I first joined the team. Do you understand? You don't the right to use my name... it's special to me."

Beast Boy nodded mutely, eyes wide: he had never seen Raven get this angry.

"Good… second, I'll give you _my_ version of what happened to the twins that night, then you'll give me yours," Raven muttered with an angry glare. "The night you kissed Terra, Persephone saw the entire thing and dragged Terra out of the dance floor to asked why the two of you had been doing it. Terra told them that it was a free country and she could do whatever she wanted, and when Percy told her it wasn't right, she brought their parents into the dispute. She told _both_ of the twins that their parents had never wanted them, and that their mother would have gotten an abortion if she'd been able to. Both twins cried their eyes out at the dance, Beast Boy... I'm sensitive to emotions, and I could feel the pain they were experiencing."

Beast Boy merely stared at Raven with an open mouth.

"So, tell me right now," Raven hissed, eyes turning red. "How could you take Terra's word over Percy's?"

"Terra told me…" Beast Boy sighed in frustration., "that she still has feelings for me…"

_"What?"_ Raven scoffed; she definitely hadn't been expecting that, and her surprise turned quickly to anger. "What did she—?!"

"Then I told Terra that Percy had feelings for me, too!" Beast Boy said quickly, recoiling under her furious gaze. "I swear, that's all that happened! Terra shrugged and went back to the main room, so that was it! But then… when I heard Percy crying in her brother's room… I overheard that Terra had said some really awful things to them and walked in without permission to tell them that she probably hadn't meant it. The twins disappeared through the floor, though... so I guess they used their powers to get away from me."

"You… you did _what?!"_ Raven breathed in outraged disbelief. "You... you told her… when she... God, do you not know _anything_ about girls?!"

"Look, I only wanted to clear it up," Beast Boy snapped. "Terra couldn't have meant it. Percy should just forgive her."

"Oh, my God! You're actually an idiot!" Raven scoffed furiously. "I never really believed it until now, but you are!"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Beast Boy replied indignantly.

"It means that you are an insensitive ass and you have the right to know it," Raven stated simply.

"I'm not an ass!" Beast Boy burst out, shaking his head before he morphed into a donkey and back. _"That's_ an ass!"

The joke fell on angry eyes, and his smile faltered.

"Yes, you are," Raven countered, glaring at him. "Let's think for a second, shall we? Persephone barely managed to tell _me_ about what Terra said, so you decided to dance right in and talk about it? I'm sure that made her feel a whole lot better."

"How was I supposed to know—" Beast Boy began, but Raven cut him off.

"Shut up, Beast Boy. I'm not finished," the empath hissed in a low voice, hair fanning out in anger the way it had when Cyborg had almost left. "I _know_ you kissed Percy… I felt it when it happened that night, because her heart… her heart soared right into the clouds. That night you decided, 'Hey, I think I'll lead Percy on today!', kissed her, and then acted like it had never happened and that none of your words had been spoken. Then, when Terra came back, you remembered that you had some sort of affection toward her. Percy finally had some hope about you, but then you're all 'Oh Terra, oh my poor dear Terra, she'd never be so mean to you, she'd never do something like that. She didn't mean to try and kill us all, it was an accident! Oh BOOHOO!'"

"That's not how it happened!" Beast Boy protested, but Raven suddenly found herself on her feet.

"Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and GET THE FUCK OVER IT!" the empath roared, eyes turning white as her powers lashed out and shattered every glass object in the room. "Stop hurting her like this! You have to stop! Because you are, Garfield, you're crushing her beyond repair! I know Terrahallia was special to you, but there is _another girl_ living _right_ under your nose who understands you on a much more profound degree than she ever did! And you're hurting her! You're hurting her _badly!_ You have to make a choice, Beast Boy! Percy's hurting to the point where it's making her _cry!"_

"What?" Beast Boy whispered, eyes going blank with confusion. "She's… cried because of this? But, she _never_ cries!"

"YES, SHE DOES! SHE HAS FEELINGS THAT ARE HIDDEN, LIKE MINE, AND HER HEART IS _BREAKING_ AGAIN OVER _YOU!"_ Raven screeched, powers lashing out so much that her shoulder-length bob cut billowed out like a cotton ball and her eyes turned bright. "Either accept that you have feelings for Persephone and do something about it, or get over yourself and leave her the hell alone. Do you understand? She can't take this kind of pain."

"Yes," Beast Boy squeaked; Raven took a deep breath before she stopped a moment, breathing heavily… then she leaned down so she was inches from Beast Boy, who was staring at her in near terror.

"If you _keep_ messing with her," the pale girl hissed, "you will answer to me."

With that, Raven straightened up, threw her cloak back over her shoulders, and walked out of her own bedroom without another word, slamming the door behind her and leaving the changeling staring after her in silence. Needless to say, Robin, Starfire, Patrokalos, and Cyborg took notice when Raven stormed into the Tower and made a beeline for the gym. The four Titans exchanged mystified looks before Cyborg went to check on her.

He opened the door to find Raven viciously pummeling the punching bag with fists full of her dark energy: then she leapt into the air and kicked the punching bag so hard that the chain connecting it to the ceiling snapped, sending the bag flying straight at Cyborg; the bionic black boy ducked with a yelp, covering his head when it smashed into the wall behind him.

"Sorry!" Raven gasped hurriedly.

"Yo! What did the punching bag do to you?!" Cyborg squawked as he stood up; Raven pulled her hood up and seemed to glide away, looking at the floor.

"Sorry…" the empath repeated emotionlessly. "A certain idiot put me in a bad mood."

"Ah, man, what did Beast Boy do this time?" Cyborg asked.

"He just made me angry, that's all," Raven vaguely explained; she didn't feel like going into detail.

"Well, if you wanna talk, I'm here for you," Cyborg sighed.

"Thanks… but I'd better clean this up," she said, looking back at the cracked wall and the busted punching bag.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"No. What I need is time to think," Raven muttered, lifting her hand and engulfing the bag with her powers: she levitated the piece of equipment over before she lifted it back up to the chain and hooked it on.

"Well, I'll see you later then," the bionic boy sighed, waving as he walked out the door.

"Whatever," Raven deadpanned.

**TXXXXXT**

Winter descended once again on Jump City,

Raven hadn't spoken to Beast Boy in a week, and Persephone had been avoiding the boy completely.

It wasn't exactly the best mood to be in for the holidays… and the holidays were definitely coming: Christmas lights shone in nearly every window. Starfire, with the help of Robin, Patty, Percy and Cyborg, had decorated the Tower: they'd gotten a massive Christmas tree in the main room that they'd decorated with bulbs, tinsel, and everything in between. At the top, instead of a star or an angel, was a large, gold 'T'.

Snow was falling heavily on the city.

They'd received three feet in two weeks and it was still snowing, so it was most definitely going to be a white Christmas.

"Today is the day of Christmas Eve!" Starfire shouted excitedly on December twenty-fourth. Raven and Patrokalos were in the blonde boy's bedroom and reading a really good book; Beast Boy was in in his own bedroom, playing a video game; Cyborg was in the garage for the millionth time since the snow had come, checking that the temperature was okay for his baby; Robin was making hot chocolate for himself and Starfire; and Percy was sitting at the kitchen table, chin on her folded arms as she stared morosely out the windows across the room. She had called Terra and asked if there was any chance of seeing her for Christmas, but her older sister had told her it would be doubtful since Bruce was working her as hard as ever.

Apparently, Batman didn't believe in holidays.

Starfire's female intuition kicked in and she sat down across from Percy; Robin left, sensing the impending girl-talk.

"What is on your mind?" Starfire asked quietly.

"Eh?" Percy asked, looking up in surprise since she hadn't noticed Starfire sitting down. "Oh… it's nothing, Starfire. I shouldn't be so down… it's Christmas Eve after all! Patty seems to be enjoying his second Christmas, so I should try, too."

"Do not do the 'kidding' of yourself," the alien replied simply.

"Okay…" Persephone mumbled, eyes saddening a little. "I miss Terra a little bit… she's awful, but she's still my sister."

"I am sorry," Starfire murmured, smile slowly fading away; she had heard from Raven about what Terra had done.

"It's not like it's your fault…" Percy replied, looking up at her in surprise. "I just… even though I hate her guts, I love her like crazy. She's my sister."

"I wish there was some way I could help," Starfire said hopefully. "I understand the feeling, as well... Blackfire makes me feel similar."

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure there isn't," Percy sighed, returning her gaze to the windows and setting her head down on her arms once again; her blue eyes seemed distant and she seemed to be lost in thought. "I'd give anything to spend Christmas as a family... I've already forgiven her for the dance."

"Well… I am going to go join Robin now, if you don't mind," Starfire said, slowly standing up and taking her mug of hot chocolate from the counter. "I wish you the best of luck… with Terra, that is..."

"Thanks... see you later," Percy mumbled into her sleeve, staring at the falling snow with sad eyes; Starfire sighed and walked from the room.

Percy stayed where she was for quite a while.

The next morning, it was Christmas: all of the Titans opened their gifts from each other, but to the surprise of everyone, Patty and Raven kissed each other right in front of them before explaining that they were finally a couple. That statement was met with lots of cheering, laughter, and congratulating… and after that, everyone exchanged gifts. When the wrapping paper and ribbons were cleaned up and breakfast was over, everyone was in an all-around good mood: the doorbell rang right after the dishes were washed. All of the Titans stopped talking, wondering who could be at the door. Robin went to get it, and the rest of the Titans listened. It sounded like a female was at the door talking to Robin.

Patrokalos and Cyborg exchanged questioning looks.

Robin walked through the doors of the main room first.

"Percy, Patty, there's someone here to see you," he said casually.

None other than Terra walked through the door: she was wearing a Santa hat, a sticker that said '_To the Harmony twins, From Batman_' and a huge ribbon on her neck to make her look like a Christmas present. Percy shrieked and flew across the room so fast the other Titans thought she must have been using her lightning powers. She tackled her big sister before the girl could even say 'Merry Christmas' and landed on the floor, sliding until the Terra was resting with her back against the wall. Patrokalos instantly joined in and tackled the two of them, laughing hysterically and hugging Terra so strongly that the older blonde girl turned purple with lack of air.

"I'm… gonna go out on a limb here," she wheezed, looking at her siblings, "but I guess this means you forgive me?"

"Well, 'tis the season!" Cyborg commented.


	19. Chapter 18: Dark Premonition

**Chapter Eighteen: Dark Premonition**

_Persephone's eyes flew open wide and she froze, face contorting in terror; her brother's eyes jolted open a second later._

_Something was wrong. Very wrong. _

_The twins were lying immobile in a white room, twisted on the floor in grotesque positions and weighted down by something unseen. Or… was it even a floor? Everything in this void was so blank, like the opposite of being blind. The twins couldn't distinguish the walls from the ceiling, so for all they knew, this space went on forever… but, where was this space? Then the pain hit them and both twins tried to scream at the same time. _

_Only to find that they couldn't: the breath was stolen right out of their lungs_

_Persephone stared at her brother with terrified eyes as the agony in her body caused tears to slide down her cheeks; he was crying as well, enduring a similar form of agony that involuntarily made him shed these tears. He twitched his hand out to his sister, but he couldn't reach her: she was too far away, which meant that they couldn't fuse their powers and heal. Then the sound of rapid footsteps entered their awareness. _

_The twins looked up to see a familiar face: Robin was running towards them. He stopped right above them, expression taking on a look of horror._

_"Robin…" Persephone whispered, bloody hand twitching out to him, "please…"_

_"Help us…" Patrokalos begged just as quietly. _

_He would save them. He was their big brother. He had given them a home and done everything for them. He cared about them._

_Robin stared down at the fallen twins… but something in his expression began to change. His face became cold._

_"Sorry, Harmony Twins," he muttered, turning around and walking off with a wave. "I wish there was some other way."_

_Both twins stared at his back with large eyes as the agony increased, feeling sick with the emotions of abandonment that flooded through them. _

**TXXXXXT**

"NOOOOOO!" Persephone shrieked, bolting upright and flailing around before she burst into hysterical tears. "No, no, no! Please, Robin, don't go! Don't leave us here… don't go! It hurts too much! It really…"

However, she wasn't in pain.

When Persephone stopped screaming and finally rubbed her eyes, she realized that it was dark and she was lying in her bed. She blinked and sniffled, rubbing her streaming eyes as the terrible emotions from her nightmare faded; she wanted to see Patrokalos… she had to see him, if only so they could sleep in the same bed. After nightmare as bad as that one, she was too scared and upset to sleep on her own. Slowly getting up as the tears continued streaming from her eyes, the tiny blonde girl made her way to her bedroom door and pressed the button to open it. However, she was startled when she saw Raven standing there with her hand raised, looking as though she were about to knock.

Raven looked just as surprised.

"Um… you okay?" the empath asked, looking at her with a slightly worried expression. "I… I felt a strong surge of negative emotions coming from your bedroom, so I wanted to see if you were all right. I... hey, you're crying! Did something bad just happen to you?"

"No," Persephone sniffled, trying to stop her tears. "No, I'm fine…"

"You're lying," Raven stated flatly, folding her arms and peering at her. "Talk to me. I can feel that you want to."

"What I need right now isn't words," Persephone mewled, shoulders shaking violently. "I need a _hug."_

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Raven rolled her violet eyes before she pulled the blonde girl close and held her in a tight embrace—which startled her more than she wanted to admit. Raven wasn't exactly the type of person who gave hugs to just anyone, so it probably meant that the older girl cared about her _and_ her brother a _lot…_ it reassured her about the nightmare only being a nightmare. There was no way something like that could happen.

"I love you, Raven," Persephone sniffled, hugging her back and not noticing how the girl stiffened in surprise. "You're like the older sister I've always wanted but never really had… so, thank you. Thank you so much for caring about me... I really appreciate it."

"Uh," the older girl droned, staring at the top of Percy's head in total surprise. "Okay?"

"I… had a really bad nightmare, that's all," Percy admitted, pulling away and rubbing her eyes. "Knowing that you guys will always love us made it go away and not seem as real, though… you just made me feel safe, so thanks."

Around that time, Patrokalos opened his door and also came out with tears streaming down his face: Raven blinked and stared in surprise as an unpleasant emotion swept through her chest. She immediately realized that she didn't like seeing Patty cry like that, and for some reason her heart began burning with a desire to destroy whoever had made those tears show up. Then she realized what she was feeling and her face turned bright red.

"It was just a nightmare…" Patrokalos muttered to himself, shivering violently and wrapping his arms around himself as he stared at the two girls. He was sweating and shaking, but for some reason his long blonde hair didn't look as disheveled as his sister's.

"You two _shared_ a nightmare?" Raven asked in a low voice, still feeling rattled by the sight of Patty's tears.

"If it was about the… _'white room,'"_ Patrokalos allowed, looking at his sister when she locked up, "then yes."

"White room?" the pale girl croaked, frowning a little bit. "What do you mean?"

"We'd rather not think about it," the twins mumbled simultaneously; Raven blinked and looked at the two of them with more worry in her eyes than they'd ever seen before, but the girl simply nodded and sighed before gliding back to her room.

"If you want to talk, just knock," Raven told them, glancing over her shoulder before she went into her room.

"It was only a nightmare," Patrokalos whispered, shaking violently when his sister plowed into him; he instantly wrapped his arms around her back and held her close, feeling her frightened emotions and thoughts surging into his body. "It was only a really, _really_ bad nightmare, Percy… he would never do that to us. _None_ of our new family members would, ever! They love us just as much as we love them, okay? So… stop shaking so much… everything… e-everything will be just fine."

"Was it just a dream, though?" the girl asked in a trembling voice. "It was so similar to the one with Red-X that I don't know."

"It _has_ to be," Patrokalos soothed, finally regaining his optimism. "There's no way he would ever do that to us. He's a good guy!"

On the other side of Raven's door, the empath was sitting with her ear against the metal, wondering who they were talking about.

**TXXXXXT**

The next afternoon, Cyborg drove the twins to the biggest supermarket around since the closest one had been destroyed in a recent fight. They had just finished shopping and were on the way home when they came across a traffic jam on the bridge stretching across the bay.

"Ugh," the mechanical boy muttered, tipping his head back when the twins peered out the windows with curious eyes. "We might be here for a while."

"This is... the first time I've ever seen the bridge so jammed," Patrokalos stated in amazement, peering through his window in awe. "Wow."

"Who knew there were so many people living in this city?" Persephone murmured. "This is only a fraction, too!"

"Yeah, yeah, I..." Cyborg cut himself off when the sound of screeching tires and horns suddenly exploded up ahead: soon those sounds were followed by screams of panic and horror, and people began running past their car with expressions of terror. The twins sat back with large eyes, blinking at the people who were running away from the direction they were supposed to be heading. Then they shared an alarmed look, feeling a little baffled.

Though he couldn't quite see what the commotion was about, Cyborg knew his purpose was to restore order and that's what he intended to do.

"What's going on, Cy?" Percy asked, feeling slightly shaken by the horrific sounds echoing from further up the bridge.

"Yeah," her brother added, looking just as uneasy as she felt. "It sounds... like..."

"I have no idea what's going on," Cyborg replied curiously, glancing at the twins. "You two can fly, so why don't you take a look?"

"Got it," Persephone replied, giving a little nod as she flung open the door and leapt out with her brother.

Cyborg stared at them wen they clasped hands, knowing that they were about to do what he loved the most about them: summon their wings. This was one of the few things he actually _understood_ about their powers, for they had actually explained the concept to him. Regardless, seeing it in person never failed to amaze him: you see, every time the twins did this it _seemed_ more spectacular than the last, and the transformation was _never_ the same.

Percy and Patty sidestepped to an open area and lifted their arms as their electric blue eyes rippled like water, flaring to a sparkling pale gold as a white glow simultaneously engulfed their forms. They lifted their hands and elegantly crossed their wrists like dancers, and both twins arched their backs as an explosion of fire ripped out of their uniforms and swirled around their bodies. The writhing white flames engulfed their forms only a moment later, encasing the twins in a cocoon of blinding heat that shielded them from Cyborg's watching gaze.

When the flames finally dispersed, the twins were standing tall, proud, and looked very much _alive_ as a set of impossibly large wings the color of burning gold folded themselves around their bodies. With identical fierce expressions, the Harmony Twins majestically spread their wings and stretched them twelve feet exactly from tip to tip before they clasped hands and leapt into the air, darting out of sight.

Cyborg hoped against all hope that it was something minor—not only for the sake of the people involved in the commotion ahead, but for his and twins' as well. Cyborg continued to cruise down the bridge with the flow of traffic, but his mind raced because he didn't know what awaited him further down the road.

"C'mon, guys, just come on back and tell me that it's just a broken-down car or someone with a flat tire," Cyborg said quietly to himself; his palpable uneasiness was evident because the loud chime of his communicator nearly caused his mind to short-circuit. Cyborg took a deep breath and let it out slowly before flipping open the communicator. It took a moment for the static to clear, but when the picture came into focus, he saw Percy standing atop a bridge abutment down the road.

The gentle-eyed girl looked panicked—so the situation was clearly more dire than he'd anticipated.

"Cyborg!" Persephone squeaked with an expression of horror draped across her face. "You need to stop all of the traffic headed this way! The Bridge is out! I repeat: the _bridge_ is _out!"_

"Out?!" Cyborg scoffed, breath hitching: now he could barely breathe. He frantically thought of ways to stop the horde of rush hour commuters from plummeting to their deaths, but he had almost no clue how to accomplish such a feat.

"Yes!" Persephone cried.

"Look out!" Patrokalos shouted, and the communicator flashed around the chaotic scenery as Percy let out a hysterical squeal; judging by the way everything looked sideways now, Patty must have tackled her. However, Cyborg paled when something huge went sailing past them: it had been going so fast that he couldn't even make out what it had been, aside from _big._

"I'll take care of slowing down traffic, guys, but we need the others—and quick!" Cyborg said intrepidly, and with that he reached under the steering column of the T-Car and flipped a hidden switch. The switch activated the ejector seat, causing the roof to retract and Cyborg's seat to shoot into the sky. As he rocketed into the air strapped to his driver's seat, he began to realized that it had really been bad idea—but before a second thought could cross his mind, Cyborg cut himself free from his seat and began to drop from the sky. The twins—who'd seen the exhaust fumes from Cyborg's ejector seat—jumped off the bridge embankment, grabbing one of Cyborg's arms at the same time and trying to stay airborne with his weight beneath them.

"Guys, drop me about a hundred feet in front of the gap in the bridge! I'll stop the cars!" Cyborg shouted at the top of his lungs. Both blondes nodded vigorously before flapping their wings and darting through the air toward the monstrous gap in the bridge, where they simultaneously swooped down and dropped Cyborg to the pavement below; then they clasped hands and flapped their wings, flailing their legs a bit before they landed themselves.

"There are a few cars balancing on the edge of the hole in the bridge!" Persephone called, trying to keep her normally unaffected composure despite the fact that she was feeling overwhelmed by all that was going on around her.

"There are people stuck inside, and we've got to get them out before this gets any worse," Patrokalos added.

The twins let their wings dissolve into swirling blue embers before sprinting over to the side of the green sedan and blue pickup truck—which both teetered dangerously on the edge of the Jump City Bridge. The twins were all that stood between the innocent bystanders trapped helplessly in their vehicles and a two hundred foot drop into the rocky riverbed below.

Taking each other's hands, Patty and Percy focused their minds as they placed their grips on the rear bumper of the sedan.

Singing a few sharp notes, the twins gently pulled it a few feet away from the precipice with nothing but their musical power. The occupants quickly scurried out of the sedan and toward a more stable part of the bridge with cries of gratitude. Meanwhile, Cyborg had his hands full trying to prevent oncoming traffic from careening into the abysmal depths below. The T-Car—which kept rolling down the road even after Cyborg had ejected—was the first car to approach him. As it was now unoccupied, and clearly of high craftsmanship, Cyborg made the decision to sacrifice his car in order to save the approaching drivers. With little effort, Cyborg stopped the T-car, lifted it up and slammed it on its side.

Right in the middle of the road.

Oncoming motorist immediately took notice and began to slam on their brakes. Two tractor-trailers were amidst the oncoming chaos and also slammed on their brakes, but Cyborg could tell that there was no way they could stop in time. He acted quickly and began to sprint toward the first tractor-trailer, ramming into it with brute force and sending a shockwave through it that nullified its momentum. The second tractor-trailer was headed directly toward the twins—who were still trying to get the last of the frightened drivers out of their cars.

Heart palpitating as the truck hurdled toward their newest teammates, Cyborg leapt over one car and hurdled another before grabbing onto the second semi's trailer, stiffening his legs and burying his heels into the unforgiving asphalt as he strained with all of his might to bring the mighty machine to a grinding halt. Sparks, smoke, and debris flew up from beneath Cyborg's heels as he slowed down the large semi-trailer. Eventually, between Cyborg's monumental efforts and the truck's own braking system, the vehicle came to a complete stop just a few feet from the fifteen foot gap in the Jump City Bridge.

Cyborg put his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths.

Even being part machine, such an effort had taken a lot out of him. The Harmony Twins, having saved the last of the trapped motorists from imminent danger, leapt onto a car and bounded over to where Cyborg was standing—waiting for him to catch his breath.

"Either today is 'Surprise Demolition Day' or we just stopped a total tragedy," Patrokalos exclaimed, eyes wide in shock.

"I have a feeling it's the latter," Persephone whispered, hugging her brother's arm with uneasy eyes.

Cyborg nodded in agreement; the whole scene was a chaotic mess—people were angry, shocked, and disoriented; cars, trucks, and buses were strewn all over the bridge since many drivers had lost control of their vehicles. Worse yet, the Jump City Bridge itself—located on the city's main freeway—was now in shambles: the asphalt had been ground down and ripped to shreds from where Cyborg had dug in his feet to stop the second semi-trailer, and twisted hunks of twisted metal, debris, and glass were strewn across the bridge's four westbound lanes. Cyborg took a good hard look at the gaping hole in the bridge; he stood silent for a second to two before his communicator once again startled him with its telltale chime.

"We have to be on the lookout," Cyborg said in a very abstemious tone, ignoring his communicator for a few more seconds as he continued to stare at the gaping hole in the bridge.

"What exactly are we looking for, Cyborg?" Patty asked worriedly.

"Who… or whatever did this to the Jump City Bridge," Cyborg replied calmly. "This wasn't an accident, and it sure wasn't construction. We're gonna have to find out what did this before it redecorates the rest of the city."

Patty nodded in agreement as Cyborg flipped open his communicator, finally bringing the incessantly chiming to a halt.

Robin's voice came in loud and clear over the communicator.

"You're late, Cyborg," Robin sighed, trying to mask his agitation. "This better be good. Dinner was supposed to be done an hour ago!"

"The twins and I ran into a problem on our way back to the Tower," Cyborg said, clearly understating the severity of the incident. "You guys should really get down here and check this out for yourselves. We think that something is on the loose."

"Alright. Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, and I will be there in a couple minutes," Robin replied unwaveringly—and with that, the transmission ended. Cyborg stood near the edge of the cavernous hole in the Jump City Bridge as a cool breeze ruffled through the twins' long blonde hair.

"I don't like this," Cyborg said pensively, making the smaller teenagers glance up at him. "Something about this doesn't add up."

"You're right…" Patrokalos murmured, glancing back down at the hole in the ground.

"What... happened to the bridge?" Persephone inquired, shivering a little bit. "How did this happen?"

The twins slowly clasped their hands together as they both stood amidst the destruction, waiting for their friends to arrive and hoping that the devastation of the Jump City Bridge was going to be the only black-mark on the otherwise normal day. The breeze began to grow stronger as Cyborg and his blonde companions stood atop the Jump City Bridge, waiting for Raven, Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire to arrive. It was late in the afternoon, but by then the citizens of Jump City would normally have been rushing home and buzzing with excitement at the prospect of the weekend to come.

Such was not the case on this day.

A cavernous hole in the middle of the Jump City Bridge prevented rush hour traffic from safely passing, causing traffic to back up onto the freeway itself. Directly in front of the hole in the bridge and strewn about in every which direction were cars, trucks, buses, and semi-trucks which, while escaping the abysmal fate which surely awaited them further down the road, had not escaped entirely unscathed. Many of the motorists were disoriented, in shock, or unnerved by the calamity that had befallen them just moments prior. Some drivers were growing impatient and evermore frustrated since the traffic backup threatened dinner plans, or a date with that special someone.

Amidst all of this commotion, three teenage superheroes were trying to make sense of what had transpired.

"My sensors aren't picking up any acidic compounds, or traces of explosives," Cyborg said, reading the gauges on his right arm intently. He studied the readings once more and began wracking his brain thinking of possible solutions. Percy and Patty, who had both been standing quietly beside Cyborg and looking at the hole in the bridge, were puzzled by the apparent lack of clues.

"But if explosives or acid didn't cause this, what did?" Patty asked bluntly, glancing up at him with confused blue eyes.

Before Cyborg had a chance to answer, however, he was cut short by the sight of Raven, Starfire, and a little green bird flying toward him. Starfire had been carrying Robin as she flew, so she set him down on the bridge next to Cyborg and the twins before landing herself. Raven thoroughly examined the hole in the bridge before she gently set herself down next to Starfire, and Beast Boy transformed from a falcon into his human form.

"Cyborg, what have you found out so far?" Robin asked.

"The twins and I were on our way back from the grocery store, we hopped on the freeway and got off on the bridge… traffic was still moving pretty well. We heard brakes screeching and people screaming, so I figured there was an accident and sent them up ahead to check it out," Cyborg choked out, feeling slightly uneasy as to how he should explain the next part of the story.

Robin's eyes instantly averted from Cyborg and fixated on the twins—silently prodding them to speak.

"We flew to the top of the bridge to get a better look," Percy obediently piped up. "All I saw were chunks of concrete and dust and junk flying around everywhere, people were panicking and trying to stop their cars—really, it was just a big mess. I radioed back to Cyborg letting him know what was up—"

"—and by the time the dust settled and we had everything under control," Patty interjected, continuing the story, "we found the bridge like this, but without any clue as to what caused it. Cy already scanned the hole and didn't find any traces of explosives, so it's almost as though…"

"Someone punched their way through it," Robin said, finishing Patty's sentence when the blonde boy trailed off.

"Oh, my," Starfire whispered; leaping into the air, she flew around the hole, examining it for herself before landing back near the other Titans. "Friends, who would do such a terrible thing to the poor bridge? More importantly, what would one hope to gain from destroying it in such an unpleasant manner?"

Before anyone could ruminate further on the subject, small tremors began to shake through the surface of the bridge. While they weren't nearly powerful enough to cause any more damage to the structure itself, they were noticeable—and quickly growing stronger. As the reverberations through the bridge grew stronger, the cacophonous sound of concrete being crushed and broken began to grow louder; the Titans, not really sure about what to expect, grew uncharacteristically uneasy. Raven stood silently for a second, trying to focus on who or whatever was causing the disturbance: she closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the tremors beneath her feet and the ominous pounding that continued to grow closer.

"It's coming from beneath us," Raven rasped quietly, but then her violet eyes jolted back open and she lifted the hood of her cloak over her head, casting a dark shadow over her pale face. "It's also coming closer, and _fast!_ We need to move, like, _right now!"_

The vibrations through the bridge were becoming stronger and stronger: the sound of concrete crumbling became deafening, like the sound of thunderclaps during a storm. Just as they wondered if the noises from below could get any louder, a large grey hand swung up from underneath the hole in the bridge, and tightly clutched on to the surface of the structure. This was soon followed by another hand…and then a face made of grey stone.

It was Cinder Block.

The Concrete monstrosity let out a loud, terrifying roar as he pulled himself onto the surface of the Jump City Bridge—only seven feet away from where the Titans were standing. His red eyes were glowing with rage as he clenched his mighty fists. He may not have been intelligent, but he was smart enough to remember who had put him in jail. He instantly let out a bellowing war-cry and glared at the seven of them.

Starfire's eyes began to burn with green light as she prepared for battle, starbolts at the ready; Raven engulfed her arms in dark energy and floated into the sky, her eyes glowing white and contrasting sharply with the shadow darkening her face; Robin pulled his bo-staff from his utility belt and extended it, ready and waiting for any onslaught that Cinder Block would bring; Cyborg prepared his sonic cannon and had it charged and ready to inflict serious damage; Beast Boy prepared himself by transforming into a tyrannosaurus; and the twins sang a barrage of beautiful notes before flinging their arms out, eyes glowing yellow as water exploded out of the air and swirled around their hands: the water formed into long pillars that soon froze to the back of their wrists. After the twins had taken martial arts stances with their frozen blades held at the ready, all of the Titans looked to Robin,

They were waiting for his orders.

"Remember, team," Robin said sternly, catching his comrades' attention, "the last few times we've come across Cinder Block, he was working for Slade... and I don't expect this to be any different."

He stood and thought his plan through for a second: they had been close to defeating Slade so many times since the Twins had come to the tower, but each time he'd been able to skulk back to whatever hole he'd been hiding in. Then he'd recuperate his strength and return. The plan was going to be simple; beat Cinder Block enough to force him into retreating, and then follow him closely. Cinder Block would—in his usual, oafish manner—lead them directly to where Slade was hiding. It was time to take the fight to murderous villain: there was no other way to put it.

"Starfire! Raven! You hit him high! Harmony Twins, BB, and Cyborg, you hit him low!" Robin barked. "I'm going to break him in half! Titans, go!"

Cinder Block growled ferociously as he charged at them: the bridge began to shake feverishly as charged, ready for battle.

Pedestrians—who had been stranded in their vehicles waiting for traffic to begin moving again—took note of the imminent danger and began to scurry from their vehicles in terror. However, many of the people were unable to reach the other end of the bridge since they were blocked off by overturned cars, trucks, and twisted hunks of metal. In their terror, they ran to the sidewalk at the edge of the bridge, hoping the concrete girder would provide adequate protection. Several families cowered down, holding their children with frightened expressions while others merely held each other.

Starfire unleashed a volley of starbolts, each punctuated with a grunt, directly at Cinder Block—who shielded himself from their fury by sticking his enormous stone hands in front of his face. While the force of the starbolts pushed him back a few feet, they didn't inflict much damage and didn't slow the monstrous beast down. Starfire flew toward him with fiery intensity and began pummeling him with her fists. The great stone creature growled in anger as the imposing Tamaranian Princess battered him to his knees. Cyborg—taking note of this—took advantage of this opportunity by blasting Cinder Block in the chest with his sonic cannon. Raven levitated into the air, radiating with dark energy as her eyes burned white.

"Azarath, Metrion, Xanthus!" she shrieked, thrusting her arms out as dark power filled her body.

Raven's battle cry hung in the air for a moment, as she lifted several empty vehicles into the air and sent them crashing down forcefully on Cinder Block.

The cars burst into flames and exploded as they made contact with the abominable stone menace: he had clearly been weakened by the Titan's attacks, but far from defeated. As Cinder Block attempted to get back to his feet, Beast Boy charged at him—letting out a thunderous roar as he used his head as a battering ram to knock Cinder Block off of his feet. The giant green tyrannosaur proceeded to make a quick about-face in time to catch Cinder Block again, driving him a few inches into the asphalt.

Percy and Patty leapt into the air and sent deafening balls of lightning and white fire at the creature's head before they dove down and brought their frozen swords down on its shoulders—crushing them into splinters. The twins then grabbed hands and flipped away from him, using each other and their control over the air to get away unscathed when he swung a fist at them. Robin—finally seeing his opportunity—leapt into the air with his bo-staff in hand and, after letting out a powerful war cry, he also landed a crushing blow to Cinder Block's head, making it crack right down the middle.

Still, it wasn't enough to bring the massive creature down.

Starfire once again attempted to blast him with starbolts, but Cinder Block managed to swat her from the sky—sending her careening into the asphalt below. Quickly getting to his feet, Cinder Block slammed his fists into the pavement and swiped them across the bridge, forcing Cyborg and Robin to back off. The Twins summoned their wings and Beast Boy changed into the form of a pterodactyl to avoid the attack before attacking Cinder Block through the air with Raven. Cinder Block, seeing an opportunity, grabbed the cab of a large semi-trailer and began to swing the vehicle around wildly.

"Watch out!" Robin cried in a loud voice. " Stay clear of him! Raven, see if you can stop him from thrashing that truck around!"

Raven's eyes once again glowed fiercely as she concentrated on stopping the movement of the massive vehicle. However, despite her efforts, Cinder Block kept trying to swing around the semi-trailer—and although for a time Raven and Cinder Block appeared to be at an impasse, it quickly became apparent that Raven couldn't hold on for much longer. She gritted her teeth and tensed her muscles as she tried to put every ounce of her strength into maintaining control over the semi-trailer... but her strength soon began to slip, and her body couldn't take the strain.

"I… can't… hold it!" Raven cried adamantly.

Soon, her control over the semi-trailer broke and she fell to the ground from fatigue, leaving total control of the truck in Cinder Block's hands. He swung the truck violently by the cab and-once it gained adequate momentum—released the truck toward the cluster of pedestrians who had gathered behind the concrete girder that had separated the road from the sidewalk. There was no way that any of them would be able to move in time.

Just as the collective fate of the huddled civilians seemed sealed, a two yellow and white blurs wearing school-like Titan uniforms landed in in front of the truck, which was careening through the air toward them: giant phoenix-like wings were protruding from their backs. The twins lifted their skinny arms as their electric blue eyes rippled like water, flaring from electric blue to gold as they created a wall of water that stretched fifteen feet high.

Their long blonde hair billowed out behind them as the world seemed to slow down: with a cry, the twins froze the wall of water.

The ice took the brunt and diverted the truck's path, but all fifty-two feet of solid steel shattered through it.

The eyes of both twins widened when the truck exploded through the glass-like shards of ice, and they just started to lift their hands again when the vehicle crashed into them. The blondes let out startled yelps of pain, eyes snapping shut as the vehicle smashed into their bodies and sent them flying through the air. Persephone and Patrokalos slammed against the abutment hard enough to crack the bridge's foundations; their wings dissipated.

The diverted truck slammed against it as well—causing it to crack and crumble.

The force of the impact itself had knocked both blondes unconscious instantly.

Powerless to avoid injury—or even move to curtail the severity of it—the Harmony Twins fell limply to the ground: the abutment that she and the truck had slammed into began to crumble under its own weight and collapsed, burying them under hundreds of pounds of debris—leaving only a twisted hand and foot exposed.

"Patty! Percy! Hold on! I'm going to get you out!" Cyborg cried, running to their aid. "I'm going to be right there!"

Cinder Block, seeing an opportunity to make his escape while the Titans were distracted, quickly turned around and jumped straight down through the hole he made in the Jump City Bridge. Robin—knowing that his one lead to Slade was about to escape—began to panic as he thought of what to do.

He, unlike Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy, had seen what happened to the twins.

He was going to have to make the toughest call of his career as leader of the Teen Titans: pursue the enemy until the bitter end and leave a friend behind, or tend to the injured friends and let the enemy go. He had no time to spare, and his decision would have long-term repercussions either way.

"Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven! You guys okay?" Robin shouted; all three teenagers slowly picked themselves up off of the pavement and nodded. "If you are, follow Cinder Block! Stay out of sight, but keep an eye on him. I have a feeling he'll lead us directly to Slade. Cyborg, the twins, and I will catch up with you soon."

Unaware of the fate that had befallen the Harmony Twins, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire took to the sky to track Cinder Block.

Robin, meanwhile, ran over in the direction of Cyborg... who was feverishly digging through the rubble trying to unearth his friends from the twisted debris. Cyborg's mind had stopped thinking rationally as adrenaline took over, and he moved without thinking about the pain he was in or the damage to his metallic armor. His only concern was freeing the twins from the pile of rubble before him. The more he dug, the more horrified he became: as the pile shrank from his continued efforts, he began to uncover rocks stained with blood.

Their blood.

"Oh, no," Cyborg whimpered, tears of horror and shock welling up in his human eye.

What he had uncovered were the twins, but it didn't resemble them in the least.

Persephone's normally fragile face looked like it had finally been broken, her blonde hair had been stained crimson with blood, a gash on her forehead was flowing freely, her titan uniform was shredded into pieces, her right arm had been snapped in several places, and her small chest was covered in sizable gashes that had begun to stain the cloth dark red. Patrokalos had similar cuts all over his body, but his left leg had been broken just below the knee. Worst yet, both twins had labored breathing from several broken ribs and a collapsed lung each.

The Harmony Twins were lying motionless in a pool of their own blood, barely breathing.

Cyborg couldn't think… he couldn't formulate words to describe what he was seeing. How could this have happened? How could you be laughing and joking with two people you loved like _family_ one hour and clinging to their nearly lifeless bodies the next? Robin approached as Cyborg uncovered the twins, but his jaw dropped open in horror when he set his eyes on them; however, being the leader, he knew he had to keep his composure.

"Cyborg," Robin said quietly.

"We have to get them out of here," Cyborg croaked, normally mighty voice reduced to a whimper. "They're alive, Robin! We have to get help for them! We have to get help! Call an Ambulance, Rob, I'm begging you with everything I have!"

"I'm going to stay with them," Robin said, reassuring his teammate and trying his best to calm him down. "I need you to take a few deep breaths. The twins are a lot tougher than they look—and they're _going_ to pull through, but right now, Cinder Block is still on the loose and we need to stop him before he destroys the city and endangers more innocent lives."

"Robin, I can't just leave them!" Cyborg pleaded. "Let me stay."

"Don't you trust me, Cy?" Robin asked, trying his hardest to persuade Cyborg to do as he was told. "I'll stay here until help arrives, but I need you to help the others. This could be our last chance to catch Slade and finally end this fight."

Cyborg was torn, but he trusted Robin and decided to do as he was told.

He quickly stood up and, with a running start, hurdled the gap in the bridge, making it to the other side. He glanced at his sensors, and got a lock on Raven and Starfire before running off into the twilight. Robin stood by the pile of debris where the twins lay motionless.

"Robin..." the small girl mewled in agony, hand twitching toward him weakly as she looked up at him with hazed blue eyes. "Please..."

"Help us..." Patrokalos whispered, rapidly slipping in and out of consciousness.

Robin stiffened when they called for him: he glared down at the twins with a racing mind. He needed to track down Slade and put an end to his reign of terror on the city, but could he sacrifice the life of his friends to catch the criminal who had eluded him? How could he live with himself knowing that he'd abandoned a teenage boy and girl to pursue a personal vendetta? The twins were great friends and even greater allies, and if it hadn't been for them, he and Starfire never would have gotten together. What they had done to save those people—what they had sacrificed—had proved their heroism.

With a sigh, The Boy Wonder turned away and closed his eyes behind his mask.

The decision he was about to make would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Sorry, Harmony Twins," Robin said coldly, turning around and heading away from them. "I wish there was some other way."

He never even looked back.


	20. Chapter 19: Under Heaven's Eyes

**Chapter Nineteen: Under Heaven's Eyes**

As Robin ran off in pursuit of Slade, the remaining daylight began to fade, diminishing into the west. The energetic warmth that had permeated the air earlier in the day began to succumb to the unforgiving chill of a stark autumn evening. As dusk descended upon the city, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of crickets chirping blithely in the distance. A breeze from the east began to blow by faintly, cooling the air substantially as the crescent moon—which hung solemnly in the sky, became visible… revealing its otherworldly presence as the last vestiges of light faded away. The benevolent glow of the moon's light graced and complimented the emerging darkness.

The Harmony twins lay motionless on the Jump City Bridge, halfway buried at the bottom of a pile of debris and rebar. Although Cyborg had dug them most of the way out, neither twin could move even though they both desperately wanted to. Patty's left leg was pinned underneath a heavy piece of concrete; Percy's arm was twisted in several ways. Both of them were losing blood... a lot of blood.

The rebar in the bridge, which had helped provide and maintain structural security, had sliced into the two of them when the section of bridge had collapsed. The first stars of the evening burned brightly in the sky as The Harmony Twins lay supine on the surface of the Jump City Bridge. As they gazed upon the stars and moon above, their vision began to blur and they felt faint. Percy and Patty shivered continuously and involuntarily; the pool of blood surrounding their bodies began to chill along with the autumn air. Breathing became more and more difficult for them because their lungs felt as though they were on fire.

With each exhale, the twins would choke on a little blood.

"They left us here…" Patrokalos whispered brokenly; his lower lip, now coated in dry blood, began to quiver as warm tears began spilling down his ashen cheeks. "They… they abandoned us… like everyone else."

"I… I thought they loved us," Persephone whined just as brokenly, looking at her brother with shattered eyes. "I... guess I was wrong. We've... only had each other from the start... and since we... were alone in the beginning... I guess, in the end... that's where we'll be."

"I love you, Persephone," Patty sobbed, then wheezed as more blood slid down his throat. "I'm sorry."

"So am I..." the girl whispered, closing her eyes; a single tear slid down her cheek.

_So am I... __  
_

**TXXXXXT**

Many of the innocent bystanders who'd been caught in the crossfire of Cinder Block's latest attack on the city began to slowly file away. Some were in shock, some were angry, some were unnerved, and a few—a select few—were both grateful and happy to be alive. A muscular young man with black hair and a grey overcoat, along with a girl in her late teens, were among the group of people who were ecstatic to be alive and breathing.

"Oh, my God! I can't believe this!" the girl said almost inaudibly, shock still present in her voice.

Her voice trailed off as she rubbed her hands over her blue blouse and black skirt, trying to brush away the dirt and debris which clung to her. She ran her fingers through her shoulder length brown hair and tried taking a few deep breaths to calm her frazzled nerves.

"You're going to be okay, kid. Things we'll be back to normal again in a few days: this will seem like a bad dream," the young man said with a shred of optimism in his tone as he brushed some dust off of his white T-shirt and black cloak. "We were lucky the Titans showed up when they did. I thought I was a goner when that shit brick tossed the truck at us."

"Yeah, it was lucky and amazing," the girl sighed with a small smile on her face. "They left as quickly as they came, but if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now."

The two stood still for a moment in the twilight, enjoying the sound of the crickets chirping and the sight of the moon and stars in the night sky. Really, the two were enjoying the small pleasures of being alive... pleasures which would have been denied had the Titans not shown up when they had. Simple pleasures that seemed inconsequential and went unnoticed most of the time, but were greatly savored when one became aware of how fragile life really was. However, the man and girl were shocked out of their reverie by the sound of a quiet moan emanating from a pile of rubble only a few feet away.

Both grew uneasy as the mewling grew louder and more labored.

"Stay here, I'll go check it out," the young man said sternly; however, the girl grabbed on to his coat-sleeve tightly.

"Are you crazy?" she whispered, voice quaking with fear. "We were almost killed by a big stone monster, and now you want to go checking out spooky noises coming from piles of rock and metal? No thanks!"

"We got lucky tonight, yes… but if someone's trapped in there, I'm gonna try to help them if I can," the man said softly, gently resting his hand on hers. With that, the girl's death grip on his sleeve loosened, and he approached the pile cautiously. As he moved a few of the rocks out of the way, a look of absolute terror washed over his otherwise stately countenance.

"What is it?!" the girl squealed.

"Oh, my God!" the man cried, looking frantic. "We need to get help, right now!"

"Is someone trapped under there?" the girl asked in disbelief, hands still shaking; the man's face, which had exuded a rather strange sort of calmness amidst the destruction, was now flushed with fear and concern. As he looked at the girl, his piercing eyes seemed to cry out loud, screaming from absolute disbelief and horror.

"Not… it's not just s-someone—it's the Harmony Twins, the newest titans!" the young man said shrilly, brown eyes wild as he stumbled on his words. The girl wrapped her arms around herself and took baby steps toward the pile of rubble. As she approached, her eyes widened in horror—for indeed, amidst the devastation lay the identical blondes.

"No way!" she cried as tears formed in her eyes, blurring her vision. Seeing the hero and heroine who'd saved her from certain death lying in a pool of their own blood stirred something in the frightened girl's heart: courage. Today she had surely been through it all, and she was awfully lucky to be alive to tell the tale. "Is there anything we can do to help them?"

"First thing is first!" the young man said forcefully, taking control of the situation. "Call 911 and tell them to bring a chopper or something down here. Tell them it's for two of the Titans and I'm sure they'll make it a priority."

He tossed the girl a cell phone from his suit pocket. She fumbled with it for a moment before flipping it open, dialing 911 and speaking briefly with the 911 operator. The call lasted only a minute or two before the girl closed the phone back up and handed it to the man.

"They're on their way. It should only be a few minutes," she stated. "What can we do for them in the meantime?"

"Help me get this slab of concrete off of the boy's leg," the man said calmly. "Both of them hurt pretty badly, but the faster we get the twins out from underneath the rubble, the faster the paramedics can start working on them."

The girl nodded assent and brushed her hair out of her face. The man took off his tweed jacket and rolled up the sleeves on his dress shirt; the girl, taking note, rolled up the sleeves on her blue blouse and followed the man's lead by grabbing onto the large piece of concrete.

"Ready? One, two, three!" both the man and girl strained under the weight of the slab, pushing with all their might. The muscles in their bodies began to burn as they exhausted what strength they had trying to move the gigantic piece of stone. With their second effort, the man and girl were able to free Patty's leg from the wreckage. The blonde boy whimpered in pain as the feeling began to return to his leg; the comfortable numbness which had set in quickly disappeared and was replaced with searing pain—pain that made it feel as though someone were sawing his leg in half.

"Patrokalos?" the girl whispered almost inaudibly.

"R… Raven? Is… that you?" Patty whined weakly; his breath was slowly growing shorter and more erratic, and when the man knelt down beside him he could see just how badly wounded the twins were. The blonde girl had a bruise on the side of her head, her face now sported several lacerations which were coated in dry blood, her uniform was tattered, revealing a few rather serious looking gashes, and her leg was either broken or—at best—fractured.

Her brother was in no better condition.

"Oh, God..." the man whispered.

"Beast Boy...?" the girl called, eyes fluttering at the sound of his voice. "Beast Boy, are you here, too?"

"Yes, Persephone, I'm here," the man confirmed, feeling sick at the sight of her pain; shaking his head, he reached over and gently grabbed the blonde girl's hand. The girl did the same for Patrokalos, looking as though she were about to cry: the blonde boy immediately shivered and gave a weak smile.

"You're… warmer than usual," Patty chuckled, mustering a weak smile as tears began streaming through his closed eyelids. "Hey, um… if this is really… you know, _it… then_ I'm glad I'm spending it with y-you. I-I… love you, Rachel... and I love your real name. It's so... pretty... like you..."

"We're going to stay right here by your side," the man whispered, closing his eyes.

The girl, who had finished clearing the debris away, picked her jacket up off of the road and laid it over the injured twins in an attempt to keep them warm until help arrived. The blondes could only respond with a meek whimper as they slipped in an out of consciousness; soon, even the sound of the approaching helicopter wasn't enough to rouse them. The helicopter flew up to the Jump City Bridge cautiously; the pilot slowly guided the aircraft onto a stable section of the bridge a hundred feet away from the man, the teenage girl, and the twins.

Two paramedics quickly jumped out of the helicopter, pulled out a gurney, a bag of supplies, and rushed toward the people hovering over the motionless bodies. As the paramedics came closer, their faces—which up to this point had been blank—quickly filled with uneasiness: they knew the task ahead would not be an easy one.

"What can you tell us?" the first paramedic—a short woman in her early thirties—asked in a calm, serious tone.

"They saved us! They saved us, but the bridge…" the man croaked tearfully as he held onto Percy's hand.

He was unable to continue: so much had occurred in a small span of time and he felt entirely overwhelmed.

"The bridge collapsed on them," the girl said, rubbing her tired eyes. "We tried our best to move the debris away and keep them warm. They're both hurt really badly, though,"

The paramedic wasted no time and immediately went to work, cutting away the top of the twins' uniforms: Percy's bra-clad chest and Patty's smooth one were soon exposed—but it was immediately revealed that both twins had been strewn with gashes. She pulled a stethoscope from her bag and listened to the labored breathing of both teens.

"They both have a sucking chest wound because of the way they got injured," the paramedic said in a grave tone, looking up at the two civilians. "The only reason they pulled through is the Titan Uniforms: both articles of clothing are skintight, so they prevented any excess gases from entering their lungs and causing the pressure to build. If that hadn't happened, these two children would be dead right now."

The woman quickly applied gauze to the wound and sealed it with petroleum jelly so it would remain airtight until they got to the hospital. Next, she opened their eyelids with her fingers and shone a flashlight into them.

"Aside from the punctured lung, we are looking at moderate to severe concussions," the woman explained. "The boy also has a fractured tibia in his left leg, and the girl has several clean breaks in her right arm."

"Are they going to make it?" the man asked tearfully; the paramedic tried to smile, but was unable to do it. She looked over at the man and the teenage girl, whose clothes were both covered in dust and debris, and tried to think of something positive to say.

"You did everything you could," the paramedic reassured. "Any chance they have at pulling through is because of you."

With that, the paramedics lifted the twins onto the gurney, which they quickly rolled to the waiting helicopter. The idle of the helicopter's engine became deafening as the paramedics secured the goddess in the chopper before climbing in themselves to continue stabilizing her. Not long after, the chopper lifted into the air and gracefully flew eastward, flying toward the Jump City Medical Center and kicking up dust and dirt in its wake. The man and girl covered their eyes as the dust whipped around them before watching as it flew away.

"I don't understand it," the man said hoarsely, thinking aloud.

"What?" the girl asked, not quite understanding what the man was getting at.

"Why would they leave the twins like that?" he asked. "It was almost as though they left them there to die."

"Maybe they thought the twins were dead already?" the girl responded. "That's the only reason I can think of."

"Even so, they shouldn't have just left them behind! They're the newest Titans for Christ's sake!" the man spat; he stood shaking violently for a long moment, about to lose his composure. Then he took a few deep breaths and placed his hands on his hips. "You never leave someone behind… no matter what. _Especially_ if the person in question is someone is close to you, the way the twins were close to them. If you care, you just can't do it... so, why?"

"They saved our lives... hopefully we repaid the favor, but it's out of our hands now," the girl said softly, trying to soothe the young man's temper. The man nodded in agreement and the two began to walk off of the bridge.

Only the sound of their footsteps could be heard for a moment before the man broke the silence.

"I hope the twins remember everything when they pull through," he suddenly spat.

"What?!" the girl interjected, shocked by the man's apparent cruelty. "Why?"

"Because those kids deserve to know what kind of _friends_ they have," he snapped.

**TXXXXXT**

_Persephone was suddenly back at the common room in Titan's Tower, wearing a billowy white dress. She stood for a moment and blinked in confusion as her brother materialized right next to her. The two of them stared at the unnatural sharpness and glows that had fallen across everything, feeling stunned by the silence that held the room._

_"What happened?" Patrokalos wondered, looking at his sister with dazed eyes; the boy was wearing a similar white shirt that stretched down to his ankles... but instead of looking like a dress, it looked like an ancient robe._

_"I don't know," Persephone stated, feeling just as dazed as her brother looked._

_"Raven?" Patty called quietly, voice cutting through the palpable stillness of the room. _

_"Beast Boy?" Percy shouted, trying her own luck. Receiving no reply, the twins glanced at each other and shrugged before they exited the room and hesitantly moved through the other parts of the Tower they'd come to love so much. Their next stop was the roof, where they had both been expecting to find Raven meditating._

_"Raven, are you up here?" Patty called, hoping someone would hear him. To his dismay, the only response he heard was the echo of his own voice echoing off in the distance. Feeling defeated once again, the twins padded back downstairs to the weight room in their bare feet: the twins figured they would find Robin lifting weights or working out with the punching bag, but when the door slid open with a hiss it revealed an empty room. _

_Nonetheless, the twins poked their heads in and looked around._

_"Are you in here, Robin?" Percy piped cheerfully, but once again there was no answer. Running out of the room, the twins ran up the stairs again and darted to Beast Boy's messy room before poking their heads inside._

_"Beast Boy?" Patrokalos squawked, looking around. Nobody was in there, either, but with any luck, Starfire would be in her room playing with her freakish pet, Silkie, or concocting some sort of toxic Tamaranian dish. Percy and Patty smiled to themselves and ran as quickly as they could to Starfire's room. The door hissed open—but once again, no one was there. _

_"Star? Big Sissy, are you here?" Percy called, looking around. "It's me, Percy!"_

_No answer._

_"Where are all of our friends?" Percy whispered, looking up at her brother. "This isn't normal... and the air seems strange right now."  
_

_"Did they go out or something?" Patty asked, speaking just as softly. _

_The twins clasped hands as they moved back through Titan's Tower with goosebumps rising on their arms, minds and hearts racing with fear... but then—in a moment of clarity—Percy reached to the pouch hanging around her neck and pulled out the yellow Titan's communicator they'd given her two years ago. As she flipped it open, she was sure someone would answer her._

_"Harmony Twins to the Titans, Harmony Twins to the Titans! Where are you guys?" she whispered, trying to mask the panic in her voice; the communicator only responded with static. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, Percy flipped her communicator closed and put it back in the pouch. Not knowing what was going on, the two blondes flopped down on the sofa in the common room—all the while hoping one of their friends would pop in. _

_However, without warning, a ferocious roar from one of the southern wings in Titan's Tower. _

_The twins jumped and clamped down on each other, faces going dead white as they let out a simultaneous scream: the noise had startled them so badly amidst the stone-cold silence that they literally bolted over to the corner and cowered there in each other's arms._

_"What the hell_ was_ that?!" Percy choked out, burying her face in her brother's arm. _

_"I don't know, but what if it has our friends?!" Patty whispered frantically, shivering all over. "What if that's the reason they're not here?!"_

_"We have to check it out!" the girl whimpered. "We have to find out what's going on!"_

_She and her brother slowly stood up and began to head in the direction of the noise: as they walked through the halls in their bare feet toward the bedrooms, the roaring became louder and louder—and it wasn't long before the twins pinpointed the source of the vicious snarling. _

_It was coming from Percy's bedroom. _

_"It's in my room!" the girl squeaked almost inaudibly, face going white. "Patty, it's in my room!"_

_"It... it'll be okay," the boy stammered, staring at the handle as his heart began palpitating. The boy took a deep breath and grit his teeth as he hesitantly gripped the doorknob and pushed it open. The moment he did, the angry cries became deafening and both twins clamped their hands over their ears. The twins quickly scanned Percy's bedroom room and deduced that the noise was coming from inside her closet. Patty nervously walked over and slowly opened the door as the noises grew louder and angrier. _

_As the door swung open, however, the noises abruptly stopped and the twins were faced with a full-length mirror. _

_"That mirror wasn't there before," the girl whispered, joining her brother and staring at in surprise. The twins stood still for a moment, looking at their reflections. For a moment, Persephone calmed herself down and wiped the sweat away from her brow, feeling foolish. However, that's when she realized their was only one reflection in the mirror. _

_It suddenly moved closer—startling the twins so badly that they tripped and fell to the floor with screams of alarm._

_"EEK! WHAT THE HELL?!" Percy squeaked, clamping her hand over her mouth as she scrabbled back to her feet._

_"That's not normal!" Patty squawked, pulling the girl close to his chest._

_"Quiet yourself!" the silver-haired doppelganger hissed, blood red eyes sparkling like rubies. "I am here to help you."_

_"Who are you?" the twins whispered simultaneously, clutching each other with identical wide-eyed looks._

_"I am both of you..." the mirror image replied. "You could consider me to be your better, much darker halves."_

_"What do you want?" Percy squeaked as fear stabbed her through the heart. _

_"I only wish to help," the Angel of Wrath said seductively. "After all, what's good for you is good for me."_

_"You have thirty seconds," Patty shot back. _

_"Whether you realize it or not, dear children, you need me," the doppelganger said condescendingly. "While you may be able to harbor the powers of Light, I am your greatest strength, the dormant counterpart that lies within every angel: Darkness. I am your ferocity; I am your courage. You waste your time and energy saving the weak and helpless, wasting your talents trying to save the world with your friends. Leave them and become one with me."_

_"Enough!" Percy shrieked angrily, blue eyes flaring to a bright gold. _

_"Our friends are EVERYTHING to us!" Patrokalos roared, eyes mirroring his twin's._

_"But what are you to them?" the dark angel responded coldly. "You may think highly of them, but where are they when you need them most? Do you see them anywhere? They earned your trust and betrayed it—just like Terra."_

_"Shut up!" Patty hissed back._

_"You are nothing to them!" the dark angel taunted._

_"QUIET, YOU LIAR!" Persephone screeched, tears welling up in her eyes as her hands began to shake in anger._

_"LIAR?!" the dark angel roared angrily. "If I am lying, then tell me: WHERE ARE THEY?!"_

_"Stop it!" Percy wailed, falling to her knees as tears began streaming down her cheeks. "Leave us alone! They're not like Terra or Slade! Beast Boy would never do that to me!"_

_"Raven would never hurt us!" Patrokalos added angrily, clutching his sister's arm and pulling her upright._

_"You don't realize it now, Angels," the demonic entity hissed in a serious tone. "However, the truth will reveal itself to you—and when it does, you will be begging for my help."_

_"I doubt it…" Patrokalos hissed, facing the inner Dark Side that lived inside himself and his sister._

_"Just remember," the angel snapped back. "You may be able to keep me locked up in here for now—you may be able to keep me caged... but never forget though that I am a primal evil, and survival is my first concern. You may trust your friends wholeheartedly, but I no longer do—and when you learn the truth, you may have your doubts as well."_

_"I doubt it," Persephone countered, mirroring her brother's words._

_"Just remember this," the demon replied, reaching out of the mirror and running her hands through their soft blonde hair. "Next time you're close to death, I'm taking over both of you and we'll handle things my way—"_

_Before the evil thing could finish, Persephone jerked back, drew water out of the air, and smashed the mirror with her frozen blade. Soon, silence enveloped the room once more and the girl flopped down on her bed— feeling hurt and confused. Between the absence of her friends and the cryptic words of her dark side, Percy was restless. As she closed her eyes in an attempt to clear her mind, she started seeing flashes of what had occurred._

_Her brother sat down next to her, touching her arm with gentle fingers the moment she stiffened._

**The screams of the pedestrians on the bridge echoed in her ears, and she glanced at Cinder Block in time to see the truck fly through the air. She saw the people couching down and her instinctive mind took over: letting out a cry, she and her brother dove down to the ground. She thrust her arms out, drawing upon her utmost power and pulling a roaring wall of water out of the air. When it was fifteen feet high, she and Patrokalos twisted their hands and flung them out—releasing her icy energy and freezing it solid.**

**Suddenly, their frozen barrier shattered and the semi-truck crashed through.**

**She jerked in surprise at how easily her barrier had been destroyed, but before she could react she felt it smash into her body. The wind was knocked out of her as she hit the concrete beam and she hit the ground awkwardly. Something suddenly smashed on top of her, and she was pinned against the ground in total darkness.**

**Then—a light! Was she dying? Was she dead? Was this the end?**

**No… it was Cyborg, and he was screaming her name while Robin watched with his mouth hanging open. She tried to call out to her friends, tried to beg them to help her, but her mouth wouldn't work. She watched helplessly as Robin and Cyborg exchanged some words and the bionic boy ran off. Robin came up to her, looking conflicted. Mustering up all of her strength, she said two simple words that held more meaning than any she'd ever spoken before.**

**"Robin, please," she pleaded, looking at his face and praying that he'd save her like so many others he'd rescued.**

**"Help us..." Patrokalos whispered nearby.**

**"Sorry, Harmony Twins. I wish there was some other way…" he replied coldly, face hardening as he turned and walked away from her. Robin's words echoed over and over again as he ran into the darkness…**

_The eyes of both twins snapped open and two hearts simultaneously dropped through the floor._

_"No…" Persephone whispered inaudibly, shaking slightly in shock; her brother slowly began to grow angry, and as he did the twins began to feel excruciating pain and agony. Percy stood up, but quickly fell to the floor as her leg gave out beneath her weight; Patrokalos leaned down to help her but merely fell on the floor himself. _

_Blood began staining their white clothes crimson and began to drip onto the floor—collecting in a pool as the twins dragged themselves across the room to her piano. Percy grit her teeth as she stretched her hand up, grasping the edge of the dresser tightly as she clutched her side. Feeling weak, she hoisted herself up and looked in the mirror, but to her horror she couldn't recognize the figure before her: all she saw was blood, bruises, and gashes._

_The same went for her brother._

_"NOOO!" Patrokalos screamed, putting his fist through the mirror; his twin began to weep and fell to the floor in anguish as blood continued to stain her dress. The blonde girl wrapped her slender arms around herself and sobbed uncontrollably, falling over on the ground as he brother continued to scream in anger and pain. _

_"Why?!" the girl wailed. "How could he leave us like that?!"_

_"Now that you remember what happened, you may want to reconsider my offer…" the dark angel laughed. _

_Persephone and Patrokalos curled into little balls on the floor, suffering greatly from their injuries. The laughter of their inner demon filled the room and rang sinisterly in their ears as an unsavory darkness enveloped them…_


	21. Chapter 20: Grief

**Chapter Twenty: Grief**

Cyborg's mind raced as he ran in pursuit of Cinder Block: after all, there was a great deal to think about. For one, how had Cinder Block gotten out of prison? Why had he destroyed the Jump City Bridge? Was he working alone, or was he a pawn in some greater scheme? Above all, Cyborg's mind turned to his friends, the Harmony Twins.

"How could I have left them there?" Cyborg wondered aloud, chastising himself as he ran. "They never would have left me behind. They would have stayed until the medics showed up—even if it meant going against Robin's orders."

Cyborg's entire body ached as he ran, but he ignored the pain, swallowed hard, and pressed on.

The battle with Cinder Block had taken a lot more out of him than he would have liked to admit, but the damage incurred during the conflict was nowhere near severe enough to slow him down. Each breath he took stung; his lungs and legs felt as though they were on fire, and a thick coat of sweat clung to his face and upper arms. His robotic armor, which was normally as flawless as the T-Car's paint job, was covered in scratches and dents; his knees and heels even had small fragments of asphalt and gravel lodged inside of them.

Despite his condition, Cyborg forged ahead, keeping his eyes on the sensors in his right arm, hoping to track down Cinder Block. An autumnal chill clung to the air like death; the temperature had dropped drastically from earlier in the day, so much so that Cyborg could see his breath escape as he exhaled and as it disappeared quickly into the night's sky. The sweat that coated his flesh cooled, sending an invigorating chill through his body. He stopped when he lost sight of Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven... who had been flying overhead in an attempt to locate Cinder Block.

Finding him would be no easy task; after Cinder Block had leapt from the Jump City Bridge, he'd stayed close to the riverbed below until he'd gotten far enough downstream to find a thicket and an expansive wooded area. In the darkness of night, with thick clouds cover looming overhead and nothing but snow-covered forests in front of them, Cinder Block would be extremely hard to find.

Cyborg stood next to the steadily flowing river for a moment, trying in vain to locate the stone on his sensors. The smell of dried leaves and snow filled the bitterly cold air, and the sound of gently flowing water echoed throughout the valley. Cyborg hung his head in defeat; somehow he had lost Cinder Block's signal. He stole a momentary glance at the river and saw that it was beautiful. The moonlight, not yet overtaken by the smoky clouds which filled the sky, cast a glow on the water as it rushed.

As the water flowed, the light of the moon made it seem like fireflies were dancing on it's surface. Normally, a sight such as this would have softened Cyborg's heart and reminded him of the beauty that was present in all things—but after all that had happened tonight, it only reminded him of the blood that had been gushing from Patty and Percy's wounds as they lay on the surface of the Jump City Bridge. Cyborg shuttered involuntarily: he couldn't get the image of their mangled bodies out of his head, no matter how hard he tried to focus on the task at hand. The moment seemed to have been burned into his memory.

With no leads, Cyborg accessed the communicator in his arm to contact Starfire and Raven.

"Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, come in!" Cyborg said gruffly. "Do you have a visual on Cinder Block?"

The screen of his communicator flashed with static for a moment or two before the image of Starfire and Raven floating gently in the night's sky came through crystal clear. Raven and Starfire looked at one another in disappointment while Beast Boy flapped behind them in the shape of a falcon.

"Our search has been most frustrating and less than fruitful," Starfire said, letting her shoulders slump forward with an expression of defeat. "Raven, Beast Boy, and I have been following the Cinder Block closely, but we lost him in the trees and blackness."

"I searched the area telepathically, but I couldn't sense him," Raven added emotionlessly. "Somehow he slipped away."

"I can't get a lock on his signal, either. How could we let him just… slink away like that?" Cyborg replied, shaking his head in disgust. The teenager could feel his blood begin to boil because he'd let that monster get away. He'd let that lowly scum—who had done so much harm to so many—fade into the night like a shadow, on his watch. His heart began to race as he clenched his fists in rage: Cyborg threw a punch and reduced a nearby boulder to gravel.

"Cyborg, calm down," Raven said evenly. "You're wasting your energy, and letting anger consume you won't get us any closer to finding Cinder Block. Plus... an escaped villain really isn't a good reason to lose your cool like that."

"I'm sending you my coordinates," Cyborg grunted, trying to swallow his anger. "We need to regroup; maybe if we put our heads together we can think of something."

"That is a glorious idea!" Starfire said, trying to remain optimistic. "Raven, Beast Boy, and I will join you shortly."

Cyborg knelt down next to the river, which continued to rush passed him. He placed his hand in the water and splashed some of it on his face. It was refreshingly cold, and the sensation helped him regain his composure. Cyborg rubbed his eyes gently as he thought of the most delicate way to broach the subject of the twins with Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire. They deserved to know—they had a right to know—but what would happen if he told them?

Beast Boy would most likely try to keep the mood bright with jokes about how tough the twins were, but Starfire would undoubtedly be upset; Patty and Percy were like her little brother and sister, and she was the big sister that the naive blondes had never known. The three of them constantly doted on each other and were always doing things together: the small blonde girl was constantly doing things like explaining female earth customs such as reading teen magazines and watching American Idol, and the blonde boy would sometimes invite the naive redhead to play crappy duets on the very piano that he—Cyborg—had crafted for their last birthday.

Right after they'd eaten the cake, he'd showed them.

The looks on their faces when they'd seen the beautiful instrument had been priceless.

Raven—although she would never admit it openly—had become extremely close with the twins despite her first initial suspicions of them. Sure, she liked to give Percy a hard time about how bad her piano lessons sucked... even though she really believed the opposite... and the empath sometimes even joked about how _awful_ her amazing tofu cooking was... which, as stated before, was the total opposite of the truth... but over the last few months her forced disdain had finally blossomed to respect and unbridled affection. She had _even_ started going out with Patrokalos, of all people.

How could he break the news to them?

Cyborg stared into the water for a moment, catching a glimpse of his reflection against the moonlight. He was taken aback by how ragged he looked; if there was ever a moment when he did not recognize himself, this surely would have been it. His mind wandered off as he stared into the river. As he looked back on the day's events, everything felt surreal; all of the fun at the mall, the disappointment of having to leave to go train, the confusion of the bridge being out and the ensuing mystery that surrounded it.

Most of all, though, the fight with Cinder Block weighed heavily on Cyborg's conscience.

Why hadn't he been strong enough to put Cinder Block down for good? How could he have let that overgrown stalagmite get away with maiming the twins—the only two people who had never shied away from his touch, and the only two people he'd let himself trust enough to _love?_ Because he did, in fact, love the twins with everything he had.

Even his robotic parts responded to them: they were his siblings... his little brother and sister.

Cyborg's mind was snapped abruptly back into reality as the reflections of Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire swept across the water's surface—breaking his almost hypnotic fixation on it. He put his hands on his knees and stood up slowly, experiencing pain from the battle with Cinder Block. Raven and Starfire both gently landed next to Cyborg on the riverbank, and the changeling morphed back into his original appearance before cracking his back with a sigh.

"Cyborg, you look most… exhausted," Starfire said, concerned about the well-being of her mechanical friend. Her fiery red hair blew gently in the breeze as she approached him and placed her hand on his broad shoulder.

"I'll be alright," Cyborg replied, trying his best to lay Starfire's fears to rest. "Did you find Cinder Block?"

Raven pulled her hood down to reveal her face; the moonlight made her look even more pallid than usual, but it was the look of uncertainty on her countenance that truly troubled Cyborg.

"We followed him for a long time," Raven said plainly. "but somehow we lost him. That's what bothers me; how could we have lost something so big and clumsy? It's not like he's stealthy."

"Yeah, I mean—dude, he clomps around everywhere like a freaking mini-earthquake maker," Beast Boy added.

"Don't let it bother you," Cyborg said, trying his best to assuage his teammates' hurt pride. "I can't even pick him up on my scanners. Wherever he snuck off to, he's long gone by now; we'll just have to wait until he shows himself again, I guess."

Starfire nodded in agreement as Cyborg spoke, trying her best to lift Raven's spirits. The Tamaranian stood in pensive silence for a moment before asking the question that Cyborg was trying most desperately to avoid.

"Where are Robin and the Harmony Twins? They are okay, yes?" she asked with a puzzled look upon her face; Cyborg tried his best to hide his emotions—to mask his grief and put on a brave face—but he was unable to do so. Raven saw right through him, and her uncertainty was quickly replaced with an expression of extreme concern.

"What happened to them?" Raven instantly asked, tinges of anger and fear festering in her voice as she spoke.

"Robin is fine," Cyborg said reassuringly. "He sent me here to help you guys track down Cinder Block."

"What about the twins?" Raven asked, voice becoming hoarse as she tried to choke back her emotions. Beast Boy looked up and stared at him with glittering green eyes while Starfire glanced at all three of them in confusion; Cyborg's face quickly went blank as he thought of the right words to say.

"Cinder Block picked up a tractor-trailer and threw it into a crowd of civilians. The twins were the only ones close enough to stop it from crushing them to death…" Cyborg stopped for a moment, choking back tears. "They flew down and created an ice barrier, but they stopped right in front of the truck to prevent it from hurting anyone. The barrier didn't hold and they got hurt."

"Their injuries… they are superficial, yes?" Starfire asked inquisitively, green eyes shining with hope as she intertwined her fingers, looking almost as though she were pleading with Cyborg to give her some happy news about their blonde friends. Cyborg closed his eyes for a moment, still haunted by the image of their mangled bodies. His lower lip began to twitch of its own accord as he choked on his words, struggling to articulate what had transpired.

"Cyborg!" Raven growled impatiently, eyes burning as her emotions began to run amok. "Tell us what happened!"

"It isn't good," he finally said, voice trembling in despair. "After the twins were hit by the truck, they slammed into a bridge abutment with it. The abutment crumbled under the weight of the vehicle, and the twins were knocked out... but, since they were out of it, they couldn't do anything to prevent the pieces of the bridge from collapsing on top of them. There was tons of concrete, thousands of it—and you all know how small and delicate those two are… the twins were nearly crushed under all that stone."

"No," Raven whispered, eyes becoming round as she stared vacantly ahead and sank into the muddy riverbank.

"Dude, you can't be… can't… be serious," Beast Boy squeaked, unable to manage more than that.

Starfire simply hovered in silence, mouth agape and eyes filling with tears. She looked as though someone had punched her in the stomach, leaving her with no breath and nothing but pain as consolation.

This was the first time things had gone so wrong.

"I started digging them out of the rubble when Robin sent me here to help you look for Cinder Block. I only had time to do a quick scan on them, but… I don't know if…" Cyborg's voice trailed off.

He couldn't bring himself to even think of the twins dying, much less say it aloud.

Instead, he hung his head and put one hand over his eyes to hide his tears. For a moment, silence prevailed. Though the moment was short, it seemed to stretch on and on for eternity, only to be interrupted by the cacophonous bleating of their communicators. In unison, they answered their communicators and were greeted by the image of a visibly shaken Robin, who was transmitting the message from the Common Room at Titan's Tower.

"Titans… you need to come to the Tower right away…it's… about… the twins," Robin said jerkily.

"We'll be right there," Cyborg said almost inaudibly, knowing that the news Robin was about to deliver was anything but good because of the name he'd addressed Angel by. Raven got to her feet, wiped the mud from her knees and the tears from her eyes. She looked at Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg with resolve.

"Let's teleport to the Tower," Raven said in her usual monotone. "We shouldn't keep Robin waiting."

With that, Raven opened up a large, dark portal on the riverbank.

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire quickly stepped through and disappeared into the blackness; Raven, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment. She looked out on the river, which continued to gently flow by—kissed by the moonlight. She began to choke up once more as she thought of Patrokalos; the light dancing upon the water's surface reminded her of the boy's eyes… those handsome blue eyes which beamed with so much optimism, hope, and life. As she stepped through the portal, she hoped that she would gaze upon them once more.

As quickly as Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven had disappeared into the vortex of dark energy, they appeared on the other side just as fast—standing safely and securely in the Common Room at Titan's Tower. The Common Room, which usually buzzed with activity—whether it be a GameStation tournament, movie night, or just a few of the Titans relaxing in their downtime—now stood empty.

Only darkness filled the expansive domicile, coupled with an eerie silence which thoroughly chilled the four of them to the core. For a moment, the quad stood silently in the dark. The moon and stars, which had been shining stolidly in the sky, had been overtaken by thick, smoky clouds which now floated like unwelcome specters overhead.

Only an occasional glimpse of astral light could be seen between the clouds.

"Robin?" Starfire finally called loudly, abruptly cutting through the silence. "Robin, are you here? It is us, your friends! Please come out and share with us your news about Patrokalos and Persephone!"

The room fell quiet once more.

Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven stood motionless while Beast Boy danced nervously on his toes with a worried expression. They all glanced at one another in confusion for a moment before the lights snapped on and Robin emerged from his bedroom.

"Robin!" Cyborg cried frantically."How're the twins doin'? Are they okay? Can we go in and see them?"

He truly was a mess: normally, he managed to keep a level head, but he felt powerless to help the twins and—even worse—responsible for the horrific fate which had befallen them. Cyborg took a few steps toward Robin, who shook his head in disbelief and looked down at the floor: the bionic black boy stopped dead in his tracks, realizing that something far worse than he could ever bring himself to imagine had actually happened to the twins.

Starfire looked at Robin's facial expression and knew that what was to come could not be good.

She cupped one of her hands over her mouth and tried her best to choke back tears and put on a brave face. Beast Boy simply stopped moving, eyes widening as his pupils dilated and he clenched his fists. Raven took one look at Robin and knew that something was very, very wrong; she lowered her hood, letting her unkempt hair hang carelessly in her face. She quickly brushed it aside and stepped directly up to Robin, who still hadn't said a word.

"Robin, how badly are they hurt?" Raven said, trying desperately to restrain her emotions.

The Boy Wonder, who was still staring at the floor searching for the right words, averted his eyes from the ground below and looked directly at his friends—who were clearly sick with worry and concern. He raised his right hand to his face and rubbed his eyes before clearing his throat.

"The twins… they… they… didn't…" Robin choked on his words as his voice trailed off.

It was as though someone was stealing the words from him as he spoke; he tried with all of his might to say what needed to be said, but silence prevailed. For a moment, complete stillness fell over the Common Room and tension quickly moved in to fill the void; Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven's minds all raced as they waited for Robin to compose himself. That one moment, which—in reality—lasted but a few seconds, seemed to stretch on and on for hours.

"Percy… Patty..." Robin began once more, voice trembling as he fumbled with his words, "they didn't make it."

Starfire—who had already been choking back tears—immediately buried her head in her hands and began weeping inconsolably; her discordant sobs echoed throughout the Common Room and were punctuated with loud thuds as she beat her clenched fists against the floor. Cyborg slowly sank to his knees as tears filled his eye and he, too, began to cry... although, his tears were done in total silence since he felt winded: it was as though he'd been punched clean in the stomach, and even though he wanted to scream out the pain inside, he was unable to because the pain _itself_ was _crushing_ him.

Beast Boy, on the other hand, simply went completely blank: he, for the moment, seemed incapable of truly processing the depth and breadth of his loss. Everything that was going on around him seemed to grow more distant with each passing second; even though Starfire's and Cyborg's cries were loud and ear-piercing, to Beast Boy they grew quieter and quieter until they sounded muffled. His glittering green eyes remained fixed on Robin, who turned around quickly and sat at one of the stools at the kitchen counter a few feet away, refusing to look at the team.

Beast Boy suddenly felt as though he were in the middle of a nightmare, unable to awaken.

Unlike what happened with Terra... this was permanent.

Persephone... was gone.

Forever.

And the last thing he'd done to her had made her cry.

He slowly walked to the large couch in the Common Room before he collapsed, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

Raven quickly pulled up her hood and hid her tears from the others: she was the least successful at restraining her emotions, however, because a deluge of anguish caused Raven to momentarily lose control over her powers; as she choked and began weeping, the lights in the entire upper floor of the Tower were consumed and destroyed by her dark energy—sending everything room spiraling into darkness once more. Her lower lip trembled and her hands shook involuntarily as her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. She felt as though the icy hands of death were choking the life out of her; she struggled to catch her breath, and began to panic as she braced herself against a wall and took a moment to calm herself down.

As she closed her eyes in an attempt to assuage her powers, all she could see in her mind's eye were the twins.

She thought of the tiny girl's smile and her adorably quirky laugh, along with the curiously playful way she cocked her head to the side whenever she giggled. She thought of her brother's gentle personality—the way he could be so lighthearted and cheery, yet so strong and steadfast when the situation required it. She thought of the haunted look the twins got sometimes, and how their electric blue eyes spoke volumes even when they said nothing to her at all.

She thought of how those shimmering eyes provided reassurance when the world seemed cold and uncertain.

Most of all though, she thought of Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius—the blooming young man and woman she had come to love... and how their light had been extinguished before it could even begin to glow. The world, which always seemed hollow to Raven, was now only a shell of what she knew; somehow, even though the sun would surely rise the next day, Rachel Roth felt as though her world had been cast into darkness.

It was an endless night from which there would never be a dawn.


	22. Chapter 21: Operation

**Chapter Twenty-One: Operation**

Two men in scrubs stood atop the Jump City Medical Center waiting for the Mercy Flight Helicopter to arrive with the newest patient to the Intensive Care Unit and Trauma Center. It had been a long day to say the least; both men were tired, hungry, and irritable, and as they stood on the roof in the cold autumn air, they passed the time by blowing off some steam.

"What do you think the story is this time?" the first man asked with noticeable aggravation present in his tone. He folded his arms across his chest and slumped forward, fully embracing his 'anywhere-but-here' attitude. "Do you think someone crossed the street without looking both ways again?"

His partner, a short, pudgy, middle-aged man with streaks of grey running through his sideburns only let out a small grunt of agreement. He stood against the wall next to the other man, and fidgeted impatiently. He drummed his fingers against the metal rails of the gurney that he was holding, as he checked his watch impatiently.

"Damn it!" the shorter man exclaimed, looking at his watch in disgust.

"What's wrong, Mark?" the taller man asked curiously, still slumping forward.

"You know how it is, Will," the shorter man snorted angrily. "I'm missing the big game again tonight. We were supposed to get off over an hour ago, so what the hell is the holdup?"

The taller man cracked a faint smile and stood up straight.

"Orders from the Head Surgeon," Will replied sardonically. "Clearly, there's some big important emergency that requires a few extra pairs of hands. I mean, I know patients come first, but these fourteen-hour days are killing me. I shouldn't have to stick around just because someone stuck a fork in their toaster to get their bagel out of it."

Mark could only laugh.

Both men's moods lightened a little bit as they heard the Mercy Flight Helicopter approach from the distance. They quickly set aside their personal gripes and rolled the gurney toward the helipad. The Helicopter once again kicked up dirt and debris as it gently set down on the roof of the hospital. The doors quickly swung open and both paramedics got out and unbuckled the gurney which was tightly tethered down inside the helicopter. The men looked at the uniforms of the paramedics, which were covered in blood, and could tell that they were dealing with something much more serious than a simple fall off of a ladder or slip in the bathtub.

"What do you have for us?" Will asked professionally, keeping his tone devoid of all emotion.

The paramedic looked at the men before her with tears in her eyes as she tried to calm herself down.

"We have two victims. One male, one female. Twins, approximately fifteen years of age. The boy has a fractured tibia in his left leg, the girl has several breaks in her right arm, both have a moderate to severe concussion, and both have a punctured lung with a sucking chest wound," the paramedic explained as she helped the men lower the twins onto the waiting gurneys. "We have them stabilized and sedated, but they flat-lined on us twice in the chopper. People weren't kidding when they say twins are connected: to save one of these kids, you have to save both."

Both men looked at each other in awe.

"Is that… Persephone and Patrokalos of the Titans?" Mark asked in disbelief. "The Harmony Twins?!"

"Yes," the paramedic replied as tears filled her eyes; her voice wavered as she attempted to choke back her sobs. "Guys… do everything you can to save them no matter what it takes. These two are friends with the people who saved my daughter from a psycho named Control Freak when she was working at the video store a few years ago."

The two men nodded and quickly rushed the twins into the hospital, whipping down the hallways as quickly as they could to get them into surgery. The Head Surgeon and a team of four nurses and assistants were waiting; the room was prepped, and the two people in charge of operating were standing in the center of it. The first was a man in his late forties with deep wrinkles in his forehead: his blue eyes were the only thing people were able to see because he'd been geared up for surgery. The assistant surgeon was a young woman with black hair and slanted brown eyes. Mark and Will, with the help of the assistants in the room, gently lifted both twins from the gurney onto the hospital bed.

Wasting little time, the assistants got to work, cutting away the remainder of the twins' uniforms and hooking them to countless machines and tubes.

"William and Mark," the male Head Surgeon shouted as he soaped up his hands, preparing to slip on his gloves, "I've already informed the rest of the team of the severity of the situation. These are no ordinary patients we have on our hands, and it is of the highest importance that we keep the fact that the Twins are here a secret—not only for _their_ safety, but for the safety of _all_ our patients."

"Why is that, sir?" William asked, not seeing the logic behind the Head Surgeon's request. The Assistant Surgeon slipped her thin fingers into the long gloves the nurses assistants were holding out for her.

"These kids are Titans, and to boot they're federal runaways by law: they're only fifteen," the Head Surgeon shot back, knowing he didn't have too much time to explain himself to his subordinates. "The Titans have plenty of enemies who would love a shot at revenge, especially if their target is defenseless like these two. I don't even want anyone informing the Titans _themselves_! If they start coming around, it will draw a crowd—and a crowd can easily turn into a mob: it's best for all involved if things are kept quiet. The Legal Department is working up a gag order to be signed by all of the staff members; if anyone leaks the story, it will be punishable by prison time. Is that understood?"

Mark and Will nodded in compliance.

"Good," the Head Surgeon replied, his words muffled by the surgical mask covering his mouth. "Now if you two would kindly excuse me, I have a hero and a heroine to save."

The Head Surgeon's skilled hands quickly got to work as the sound of various and sundry medical machines whirred incessantly in the background, monitoring all of the twins' vital signs. Sweat quickly began to form at the brow of the Head Surgeon, who stared at the gaping wounds, plotting the best course of action.

He swallowed hard, then braced him.

"These two are going to make it," he muttered. "No matter what it takes, I'm going to save them"

Thus, the Head Surgeon and his team began the operation.

The man and Asian woman worked feverishly to save the lives of Persephone and Patrokalos, and a palpable tension hung in the air as the Head Surgeon's skilled hands worked with speed and precision; his main concern was repairing the punctured lung that both twins had somehow sustained during their battle with Cinder Block.

If the external gases entered either of their chest cavities, it could mean death.

Numerous gashes, punctures, and cuts, which covered Angel's unusually slender chest and abdomen, were also a concern; many of these were serious wounds which continued to bleed profusely. If the bleeding wasn't stopped soon, the twins would be beyond saving.

"Dr. Andrews, do you need us to send for a few units of blood? The twins have lost quite a bit and might need a transfusion," a middle-aged woman with a gaunt face and sullen eyes said forcefully. The Head Surgeon closed his eyes for a moment, allowing his thoughts to freely flow. The tiny wrinkles around his eyes appeared as he pondered his next move, weighing the pros and cons of each avenue.

"Take a sample of their blood and do a test. I need to know exactly what I'm dealing with before I give them a transfusion," Dr. Andrews replied, nodding at her twice before he continued to work on stopping the blood loss.

"But Doctor, that could take time we don't have!" the woman protested; Doctor Andrews, who had been treating the twins' surgery with the utmost care and consideration, shot an exasperated glare at the nurse—who took a step back when she realized that she'd spoken out of turn.

"Nurse," Dr. Andrews continued, keeping a level head amidst the frenetic climate, "clearly, these are no ordinary patients; their physiology is slightly different from what we are accustomed to since they are not normal human beings. I want you to test their blood before we give them a transfusion to be sure we don't induce an acute hemolytic reaction. If necessary, look into their medical files to see if they have any family members. You know the drill."

"Yes, Doctor," the nurse replied sheepishly as she slipped out of the Operating Room to conduct the tests.

Realizing that he needed to stop the bleeding in order to have a chance at saving the twins, Doctor Andrews made a large incision across Persephone's chest since Patrokalos seemed to be more stable in the area of the sucking wound. Persephone's breasts had been riddled with deep puncture wounds; these wounds had resulted in some serious internal bleeding, which required immediate attention.

Dr. Andrews worked quickly and cauterized the many veins and arteries which had been damaged—and after making sure the repaired blood vessels wouldn't burst, he sewed his incision shut and sutured the external puncture wounds. After stopping the worst of the bleeding, the man addressed Percy's punctured lung and the sucking chest wound that had accompanied it. He removed the field dressing that had been placed on Percy's chest by the paramedic; he took great care as he made an incision to determine whether a severe internal injury had occurred.

Seeing that the punctured lung was the gravest injury either twin had sustained, Dr. Andrews inserted a chest tube to allow the external gases which had built up in the girl's chest to escape; it was then that the electrocardiogram machine, which had been steadily beeping, began to indicate abnormal rhythms in both of their heartbeats. Doctor Andrews and his team stood in shock for a moment as their blood pressure began to plummet at the same time. The arrhythmia became more and more pronounced, and the beeping of the electrocardiogram machine went from a steady tone to a frenzied, manic din. The lines which had been indicating each beat of the twins' individual hearts began to spike irregularly and occur infrequently.

"What's wrong, Doctor Andrews?" a thin, young nurse shouted frantically; Doctor Andrews, who had been briefly taken aback by his patient's sudden deterioration, addressed the problem directly.

"Persephone's punctured lung!" Doctor Andrews shouted forcefully. "It's putting pressure on her superior vena cava. Her breathing is being regulated by the ventilator, but her circulation is being obstructed. We need to elevate her to his right side, away from the injured lung. This way, the lung won't put pressure on her vena cava, and her circulation will normalize."

The thin nurse and the other three assistants did as Dr. Andrews suggested, and propped up Percy's right side. For a moment, the twins' blood pressure normalized and their heart rate appeared to improve; however just as abruptly, the electrocardiograph began bleating once more before displaying a flat line.

The twins were going into cardiac arrest.

"We're losing them!" the thin nurse exclaimed, her voice wavering with desperation. "Which one do we attend to?!"

"Both! Charge the defibrillator, now! Charge for fifty volts, stat!" Doctor Andrews barked; the assistants did as they were told and handed Doctor Andrews the defibrillator paddles. He quickly positioned them on Percy's chest while his assistant did the same to Patty. She looked up at her senior with frightened brown eyes.

"Now?!" she squealed in an Asian accent.

"Now! Clear!" Dr. Andrews shouted: the two of them sent a jolt electricity throughout the bodies of both twins in an attempt to get their hearts pumping once again. After the first shock, they remained unresponsive. "Give me sixty-five volts, stat! Clear!"

Once again, the electric current was sent through their chests, causing their unconscious bodies to lift up off of the operating table; once again though, their hearts refused to beat.

"This is our last shot! Everyone say a prayer for them!" Doctor Andrews cried, stressing the gravity of the situation to his team. Everyone in the operating room was stone silent; the incessant blaring of the electrocardiograph was the only sound. The thin nurse stood with tears in her eyes as she looked on at the twins before turning away and squeezing her eyes shut. Doctor Andrews, whose face now glistened with sweat under the fluorescent lighting, placed the defibrillator paddles on Persephone's chest, hoping to restart her _and_ her brother's hearts.

"Give us eighty volts!" the Asian woman cried. The medical team did as they were instructed and charged the defibrillator to his specifications. Doctor Andrews made sure the paddles were positioned perfectly before briefly glancing skyward.

"Clear!" the man shouted.

**TXXXXXT**

_Inexplicably, Persephone and Patrokalos found themselves on the roof of Titan's Tower. They had no recollection of how they'd gotten there; the last thing either one of could remember was writing in agony on the floor of the girl's bedroom, covered in blood from the wounds which adorned their bodies. Somehow—within the blink of an eye—the wounds had disappeared and the two of them had felt better than they could ever remember. It was as though they'd awakened from a nightmare. Persephone thought long and hard about it for a moment, trying to deduce exactly how she and her brother arrived on the roof of Titan's Tower. _

_"Look at the sunset," Patrokalos whispered, gently threading his fingers through hers. _

_Percy's rumination was interrupted by the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen. The sky seemed ablaze with color: hues of yellow, orange, amber, amethyst, and pink kissed the sky gently as the incandescent sun peered over the horizon. A warm breeze gently rolled by, lifting their long blonde hair off of their shoulders and causing the strands to glisten like fiery gold. The breeze brought with it the scent of the ocean, which surrounded Titan's Tower... and the water itself, which was usually rather choppy and turbulent, was completely still; so still, in fact, that it was as though the water were mirroring the sky. The light from the rising sun reflected and refracted off of the water's surface, bathing the city in a bright, benevolent glow._

_"Amazing," Persephone breathed; she and her brother sat down on the edge of the roof of Titan's Tower, dangling their bare feet off of the edge._

_The girl looked toward the west, gazing longingly at Jump City, which—in this light—looked like paradise as the wind pulled at her long blonde hair. The City's skyline was truly a sight to behold; the tall skyscrapers stretched to the heavens, standing strongly and proudly, casting large shadows in their wake. Persephone breathed deeply, taking in the warm, salty air and exhaled slowly, letting the warmth wash over her. _

_For the first time in a long time, she had no worries, doubts, or concerns… for the first time in a long time, she was able to truly appreciate the sunrise. Under normal circumstances, she and the other Titans would be getting home as the sun peered over the horizon… they would have been so exhausted from fighting crime all night that they'd want nothing more than to take a shower and sleep the day away. This day was different: Percy and Patty found themselves reveling in the wondrous display of nature before them, knowing not where the sky ended and the Earth began._

_"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a familiar voice asked from behind her, shaking the twins from their reverie. _

_The blondes, who were slightly taken aback by another presence, snapped themselves out of their individual daydreams and slowly stood up—still looking at Jump City's skyline in delight. However, Patty and his twin quickly whirled around to see with whom they were speaking just in case the person proved to be hostile. _

_"It sure is," Patrokalos replied, looking at the hulking figure with narrowed eyes. _

_"Yeah," Persephone added, squinting as she tried to see the face of the giant in front of her. "I don't even remember the last time I've seen something this… breathtaking…"_

_At first, the twins had only seen the man's hulking silhouette since he'd been standing with the setting sun at his back. However, when the twins slowly approached his towering form, they quickly realized that they weren't not addressing a stranger, but someone they knew… someone from the past. Their eyes slowly widened in utter shock. _

_This was someone from long before they'd ever come to the Titans... someone from when they were children. _

_When the twins craned their necks back and stared into a set of familiar electric blue eyes, tears welled up in the eyes of both twins and they squeezed each others hands with clutching force as their hearts fluttered with shock._

_"D-Daddy?" Persephone whispered, staring up at the giant with watering blue eyes. _

_"Dad?" Patrokalos breathed at the same time, eyes shimmering with tears._

_The man, who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, smiled down at them and revealed a set of fangs that looked so much like their own; he was nearly four feet taller than the twins, had a hulking, athletic build, and carried broad shoulders. He had wild, waist-length black hair that ruffled in the breeze and, comically enough, he was wearing a pair of small glasses with thin black frames that seemed ridiculous on his overly large features. He was wearing a white button-down shirt and khakis... and he looked just as he had the last time the twins had seen him. _

_The way he'd looked on the day they'd killed him by accident. _

_Persephone choked and quickly turned away when she recalled how she'd lost her parents; tears streamed down her face as her brother turned away from their father, looking at the Jump City skyline once more with sickened eyes that soon began streaming. The twins cried in total silence until they both felt a hand on each of their shoulders._

_"What's the matter?" the man said softly. _

_Percy hung her head and closed her electric blue eyes tightly while her brother tried to catch his breath long enough to say what he wanted to say._

_"W-we're… s-sorry, Dad…" Patty choked, forcing the words out of his mouth as he turned around and clasped Percy's hands for reassurance; the girl looked her father in the eyes and waited for a reaction, mouth trembling violently._

_"Patrokalos, Persephone... you two have absolutely nothing to be sorry for," the man said reassuringly. _

_The twins stared at their father in confusion. _

_How could he say something like that?_ the twins wondered simultaneously, shooting each other a look._ He must have died believing that there was something that we, his son and daughter—the immortal twins with the ability to control any element they could imagine—could have done to save him._

_"You and Mama," Persephone whispered, shoulders shaking as years of pain swam freely in her blue eyes. "We could have… we should have been able to stop our powers that day. We're sorry that we weren't strong enough…"_

_The man cut her off by placing his huge hands on his children's shoulders and looking them both directly in the eyes. There was something about the feeling of their father's hands that brought them a semblance of solace._

_"There was nothing you could have done," Henry replied softly. "When I died, I was angry... I was upset because there was so much that I still wanted to do, and I felt cheated out of my immortality. My work, my family, everything that I held dear had been taken away in an instant. I felt as though my life had been meaningless, that my existence on Earth had meant nothing—that all of my accomplishments had been for naught. However, even though it took me a while, I was finally able to understand."_

_"Understand what, Daddy?" Persephone asked softly, trying to keep her own emotions under wraps. Their father took a moment and looked out at the Jump City skyline, which still shimmered in the morning light. Henry looked at her with a haunted expression, blue eyes shimmering with tears as he spoke. The twins couldn't help but feel as though they were still responsible for the man's pain… even after all the years that had passed._

_"That everything in life, no matter how small, matters more that you could ever imagine," their father continued. "My entire life I worked to try to make the world a better place. I studied for hundreds of years, conducted endless hours of research, spent countless nights immersed in my work to try to unlock the secrets of the genetic code. My goal was to make humans more resistant to disease and infirmity, to improve the quality of life for every mortal man, woman, and child. When I died, I didn't view my life as a success because I wasn't able to accomplish that goal… but I discovered I was wrong. You inherited every inhuman quality from both your mother and myself."_

_"I don't understand," Patrokalos whispered, looking down at the ground. "What are you saying?"_

_"You've blamed yourselves for the deaths of your mother and myself for so long that it's nearly crushed your souls, but did you ever consider how your lives would have been different had we survived?" he inquired. "You never would have met the people you have, or come to know love... you never would have become so determined to use your abilities for the good of mankind, and you would have grown into a completely different person altogether."_

_"How can you say that?!" Percy cried, face twisting in anguish as she struggled not to cry. "I spent so many nights alone, in the darkness_ and_ out of it, wishing on the stars that you would come back and we could be a family again! I would have given anything for us to be a family again! You all died and we were left all alone! It was only us!"_

_"We were tortured by human beings because we had nobody there to help us," Patrokalos added, shoulders shaking as he fought back tears and looked his father in the eyes. "We were left all alone! We had no help, and what makes it worse is that Terra... Terra... she was the one who made us suffer for so long. We needed you... we wanted you."_

_"I know," Henry replied earnestly as he pulled the twins into his arms. "Yet you would have had us and you would have never had a reason to pursue hero work. You would have had your Mother and I there, trying our best to shelter you from the world—to protect you from the stinging pain of the harsh words and cruel names people would have called you. You would have come to reject humanity out of resentment, but instead you learned to face each day with a disarming smile and boundless optimism. You both developed a thick skin and a sense of humor—and because of that, you two have made a difference in the world. Even if I had succeeded in my work, I never would have had the impact on the world that your lives have had. You've saved the world. You've protected the innocent and saved so many people from death—Good people, too! Men and women who will go on with their lives... people who will have families of their own... and people who will love. 'Thee who saves another life has saved an individual world.'"_

_Persephone began crying uncontrollably and Patrokalos sniffled as they three of them stood side by side, staring at the Jump City skyline and admiring the breathtaking sight before them. Their father took a deep breath and sighed heavily._

_"What's wrong, Daddy?" Percy sniffled, not understanding what there was to be upset about. Henry knelt down and wiped tears from his daughter's eyes before he threw his arm around his son's slender shoulders, drawing him close._

_"I really missed you," he rumbled, voice trembling with sadness. "I missed the two of you so much…"_

_"We're right here," Patty whispered, trying to console his Father. "We're not going anywhere."_

_"You can't stay, guys," her father replied, sighing deeply once more._

_"What?" Persephone squeaked in protest, _

_"Why not?" Patrokalos demanded, trying to plead their case with her father._

_"It's not your time," the man said plainly. "We all have a certain amount of time on this Earth: you still have, at the very least, two thousand years ahead of you since you are like me... an immortal god. You will live, love, and laugh."_

_"I don't want to leave!" Percy wailed, clutching her father's shirt. _

_"Please, let us stay!" Patrokalos begged. "We can be a family again!"_

_"It's not your time," Henry said again, trying to assuage their aching hearts. "Know this: every parent, even immortal ones, hopes that their child will make a difference in the world. You have made me the proudest man in the world above and below. When I died, I thought my life had meant nothing and that my work hadn't been complete. Persephone, Patrokalos... the handsome young man and beautiful young woman you two have become in our absence honors us everyday. You two are my legacy; never forget that."_

_"Daddy, don't leave us again…" Percy whispered, burying her face in her father's shirt and weeping openly. However, the guilt and penitence that had come from the deaths of their parents seemed to burn away in the vestal light of the sun._

_"It's time for me to go, Songbirds: never forget that I love you…" Henry said with a smile on his bearded face and tears in his electric eyes. The man pulled the twins close one last time, embracing them tightly as a pair of huge black wings exploded from his back through his clothing in a flash of violet fire. Persephone and Patrokalos squeezed their father tightly as the roaring flames engulfed their forms, not wishing to let go of him again the way they had before. _

_However before they knew it, their Father was gone. _

_They were alone on the roof with nothing but dissipating violet embers._

_"We love you, too…" Percy and Patty whimpered simultaneously, faces contorting in pain as they embraced each other and collapsed onto the roof and began crying hysterically. The two of them buried their faces in each others shoulders, weeping while feeling vindicated and conflicted all at once…_

**TXXXXXT**

Percy and Patty's bodies jumped up off of the table at the same time in response to the defibrillation.

Dr. Andrews had given the two of them the maximum voltage possible in hopes that their hearts would start beating once again. The four assistants in the operating room stood with bated breath, praying for the twins to pull through.

"Come on, kids!" Dr. Andrews pleaded. "Come on, you can do it…"

The electrocardiograph machine continued to drone on, displaying a flat line.

Dr. Andrews, with tears in his eyes and a sick feeling in his heart, looked to the clock on the wall of the Operating Room, preparing to announce the time of death for both twins. Just as he was about to read the time off to one of his assistants, a faint blip echoed across the electrocardiograph machine. It started off quietly and sporadically, but as Dr. Andrews continued to look at the clock, the heartbeat grew stronger and more regular.

Cheers of joy filled the Operating Room, and the four assistants began hugging one another in jubilation.

It had been four hours since they'd started working on the twins, and it was now early Saturday Morning. Everyone who had taken part in the surgery felt like a hero in that moment, including Doctor Andrews himself—who, after successfully stabilizing the twins, gave his team orders to put the girl and boy on an IV, and to keep them sedated. The good doctor then stepped out of the Operating Room and burst into tears, knowing he had just performed the most important surgery of his career to the best of his ability. He looked skyward, tears still streaming down his face, and with a slight smile on his face, uttered the only words that seemed appropriate at the time.

"Thanks for helping me save the world…"


	23. Chapter 22: Shell-shocking Guilt

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Shell-Shocking Guilt  
**

As the sun began to peer over the horizon, announcing the break of day, the darkness of night subsided and began to recede.

The moon, which had hung like a pearl in the sky, relinquished its position of reverence and was overtaken by the light of the rising sun. The thick, smoky clouds which had hung eerily in the sky began to dissipate; soon, the sky was adorned in hues of amber, blue, and pink. A cool morning breeze blew steadily, adding a slight chill to the early morning air. The stillness of dawn was soon disrupted by songbirds, who blithely chirped their melodies, welcoming the morning light.

It looked to be the start of a glorious day.

Raven, who had been meditating on the roof of Titan's Tower since receiving word of Percy and Patty's death, slowly opened her violet eyes and saw nothing of beauty. There had been occasions in the past when even _she_ had been taken aback by the inherent majesty of the Earth; the sight of the sun's rays reflecting off of the water below, the smell of the saltwater breeze, or even the sound of the water gently washing against the rocky shore had a way of bringing solace to Raven. Today, however, she was not as easily moved by the wondrous display of nature stretching out before her.

Today, the sunrise didn't remind Raven of the joy of things to come, but rather the pain of what she had _lost._

She set herself gently down on the edge of the roof of Titan's Tower and buried her face in her hands.

She had been trying desperately to clear her mind since she had heard the news, but she was unable. Every time she closed her eyes, visions of the battle with Cinder Block resurfaced, driving yet another thorn into her side. She could see Cinder Block, could hear him strain as he lifted the semi-trailer into the air by its cab… she could feel the strain in her muscles from putting every ounce of her strength into wrestling the truck from the monster's clutches. She could feel herself weakening and gently falling to the ground like a moth that singed its wings. Worst of all, Raven felt helpless; the twins were gone, and she'd done nothing to save them.

"How could I have let that happen? How could I have let myself be overpowered by Cinder Block?" Raven wondered aloud to herself, wallowing in her despair. Her emotions, which were usually held in check, began to run amok in her mind. Though she was not in Nevermore, she could hear her emotions stirring in her mind, burning through her veins, and gnawing at her insides.

Affection was inconsolable: her mind was flooded with memories of Patrokalos.

Raven had always been successful at hiding her emotions from Beast Boy underneath a veil of sarcasm, but she'd never been able to do it once with that seemingly happy-go-lucky blonde boy... and at the moment, his memory was consuming her heart. Raven remembered how Patty had teamed up with Beast Boy these last nine months... always trying so valiantly to get her to come out of her shell. The two of them had always been there to tell a silly joke to try to put a smile on her face—to be her pillars of strength when she needed support, and to heal her aching heart when she truly felt alone.

Timid, usually the most sheepish of Raven's emotions, was disconsolate.

She blamed herself for not being strong enough to save Persephone's life. She had fallen to the ground in a heap, leaving both of the twins in a vulnerable situation; the blondes had been far too selfless and naive to hold their own well-being over the lives of others. It was partly Timid's fault that she was dead: if she had been stronger, the twins would be with them still.

Though Raven was clearly grieving for the Twins, part of her was searing inside.

Raven began to feel surges of adrenaline course through her veins; Rage was whispering in her ear to hunt Cinder Block down like an animal and slowly enact her revenge. A part of Raven—a small, but very _evident_ part—delighted in the thought of killing Cinder Block and giving him what he truly deserved. Worse yet, the thought itself frightened Raven—not only because it was immoral, but because she was actually _considering_ it.

It wasn't long before Logic and Wisdom, the most grounded of Raven's emotions, were attempting—with little success—to quell the other emotions and to bring solace to her troubled mind. Soon, she began to hear them faintly and calmly whisper to her.

"_There was nothing you could have done…"_

_"It is not your fault…"_

_"Everything happens for a reason…"_

_"Time heals all wounds…"_

Wisdom and Logic flooded Raven's mind with axioms to placate the other emotions; however, they only added to the discord. Raven cupped both of her hands over her face and dug her fingertips into her forehead. She was trying desperately to quiet the nagging voices, but the harder she tried, the louder and more unruly they became. It soon became clear to Raven that meditation was not the answer; the harder she tried to get the twins out of her mind, the more she thought about them. Perhaps only time could heal her heart. Raven slowly got to her feet and turned to the door. She stood motionless for a moment before glancing over her shoulder at the sunrise to the east. The beauty of the skyline didn't move her; it reminded her of the twins.

This sunrise, like all others, was innocent, optimistic, and held great promise.

Regardless of what had occurred in days past, a sunrise promised a second chance, granting an opportunity to forge ahead with confidence and to face the coming day with pride. The twins had faced every day in that manner. They'd had every reason to be resentful or feel cheated by the hands they'd both been dealt in life, yet they'd held such hope—such abundant hope—that they were able to face the world with smiles. Tears welled up in Raven's eyes as she quickly turned her back to the sunrise and pulled her hood up, shadowing her face in darkness. As she walked toward the door, she wiped away the tears that streamed down her pale cheeks; the warmness of her tears quickly faded as the cool morning breeze blew by.

Her racing mind briefly found solace.

"The twins died just as they lived," Raven whispered mournfully. "Courageously… heroically… and all the while constantly believing in the inherent goodness of mankind."

With that, Raven opened the door to Titan's Tower and put on a brave face; she knew that although she could not find solace at the moment, that she would endure and persevere. She was more concerned with how Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and—most importantly—Beast Boy was coping with the news. They had all known the changeling's feelings for Persephone had slowly begun to surpass his crush on Terra. Raven descended into the main corridor and slowly walked down the hall. The Tower was quiet; throughout their time living in Titan's Tower, there had always been something going on, whether it was some good-natured ribbing, practical joking, or a friendly game of extreme stankball.

Currently, the Tower felt like a graveyard.

The hallways were dark and dimly lit, many of the corridor lights were still off, and the rising sun was barely peering into the windows. Moreover, the Tower itself seemed cold, damp, and strangely uninviting. Raven took note of this, and tried her best to ignore it—but the harder she tried, the more evident it became. Raven's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the soft, muffled sound of sobbing echoing gently throughout Starfire's room.

The Tamaranian's raw-throated tears stopped Raven in her tracks. Though Raven was constantly forced to keep her emotions in check, the sound of Starfire's crying stirred something deep inside of her: she had never before heard the princess become reduced to tears.

Raven knocked gently on Starfire's door.

"Starfire, are you okay?" Raven asked; the door to Starfire's room opened with a hiss, revealing the princess standing dejectedly in the doorway. Her emerald green eyes were bloodshot from crying, adorned with dark bags from lack of sleep.

"Friend Raven, please, come in," Starfire said, her voice raw and sore from crying for so long.

Raven hesitantly obliged and followed Starfire into her bedroom. The princess slowly lowered herself onto her bed and motioned for Raven to join her. Raven sat down next to Starfire—who remained utterly silent. An awkward silence descended upon the room as a few rays of sunlight began to pour in through the windows. Raven began to feel uncomfortable; after all, she didn't have very strong people skills.

"Raven… why?" Starfire asked softly. Raven, momentarily puzzled by Starfire's question, stared blankly at the grief-stricken Tamaranian. Starfire took note of Raven's confusion and took a moment to find the right words. "Why did Sister Percy and Brother Patty… have to… they said they would never… that they would live forever and couldn't… why, Raven?"

"It's not fair, but these things happen," Raven said, trying to console her ailing friend, "They did what they knew was right. They gave up their lives so those people could live."

"But why the twins?" Starfire persisted. "They did nothing wrong."

Raven felt genuinely awful for Starfire: since she blended in so well and looked human physically, it was easy to forget that she wasn't human and that she hadn't lived on Earth for too long. Though she had still learned a lot, she wasn't familiar with all human customs; the concept of mortality being one of these. This made it difficult for her to comprehend death.

"No, she didn't, Starfire," Raven replied, trying her best to remain sympathetic while helping Starfire make sense of what had happened. "The world can be a cruel and unforgiving place. Sometimes people… the best of people—like the twins—are taken from us and we're left behind to pick up the pieces. "

"I do not understand death," Starfire said, depression apparent in her voice.

"It's just a part of life, Star," Raven said reassuringly. "As unfair as it all seems, we all face it some day."

"Physically… I am not hurt," Starfire said softly, staring at her bed as her shoulders started shaking and tears began streaming down her tan face. "Yet, somehow, I still feel as though I am being ripped apart on the inside. I feel as though I will never smile or laugh again. My heart aches as though it is becoming filled with as many black holes as the Centauri moons."

"One day… one day, the pain will subside," Raven replied weakly, trying her to convince herself as well as Starfire.

The princess feigned a smile and gave Raven a bear hug.

"Thank you for consoling me, Raven. I think I need some of… the space," the girl said with hollow eyes.

Raven nodded, understanding that Starfire wanted to be alone: the girl had valued her friends more than life itself and had clearly been devastated by what had transpired. Raven turned, exited Starfire's room, and shut the door behind her. She turned and walked down the hall, chastising herself for not being able to lift the Tamaranian's spirits. True, she wasn't—by any stretch of the imagination—a happy-go-lucky kind of person, but she should have been able to help Starfire grieve. As Raven walked down the hallway, she was surprised to see the door to Percy's room wide open. At first she was taken aback, and hoped that she would peer in and see Persephone lying on her bed reading a book with her stocking-clad feet waving in the air, or meditating with her mirror, or sitting at her new piano with an adorable look of concentration on face.

Instead, she saw Cyborg sitting vacantly on the girl's bed.

"Cyborg, are you okay?" Raven asked questioningly; when he glanced up, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I should've been there for them, Raven… the one time they actually needed my help, I let them down," Cyborg whispered angrily, regret clinging to his every word; Raven took a few steps into Persephone's unnaturally clean room in order to console the mechanical boy—but before she could, her friend continued to beat himself up. "What kind of a man can't save his own little brother and sister, Rae? What kind of man could do something like that? I just… I just _left_ the two of them there like they didn't matter—like I didn't care about them. Maybe I'm more robot than human."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Raven interjected, hoping to calm Cyborg down.

"No, Raven: _listen_ to me," Cyborg snapped, trying to explain himself. "I've always felt cheated—every day of my life! Ever since the accident left me like this… half-man, half-machine… I've always looked at everything that I've _lost._ I've sulked and whined about how my father ruined my life because the circumstances had changed: so many people would stare at me and make me feel like a freak, but then… but then, when the twins began opening up to us, I felt there was something special about them; when they joined our team, the way their _eyes_ looked whenever they glanced at me _struck_ something... and the first time I saw them fly away from us on those wings after Terra's revival, I knew they were something special."

"They were special," Raven whispered, staring blankly at the ground.

"They were," Cyborg hoarsely agreed, covering his face with both hands. "More than you know. You see, when I explained to patty why I was half-human and half-machine, he held my hand and told me about the horrifying things that had been done to him when he'd been locked up—things that would make your heart sick, like being stabbed, raped, beaten, humiliated, and shamed by people he didn't even know! He and Percy were _experimented_ on like _animals!_ That was the moment... that was the moment I _knew_ I loved the two of them more than I loved my own father: they helped me see the bright side of life, even when I was feeling sorry for myself. Now… now they're gone, and somehow I feel like I'm gone, too…"

"Victor," Raven whispered in awe; she'd never seen him like this before.

As she watched, a tear streamed down Cyborg's cheek.

"I got a second chance that I never asked for through the twins…" Cyborg whispered, burying his face in his hands as he began weeping, "and I would gladly give it all away if it would bring them back. I would simply give everything up if only it would bring them back to us... I want them back."

Raven clutched her chest and her mouth twisted as she fought back her own tears: this was the first time she'd ever seen Cyborg cry.

It was enough to bring her down as well.

**TXXXXXT**

Robin nervously paced in his room. Though day was breaking, Robin kept his curtains tightly drawn, refusing to let the light shine through his window. He rubbed his tired eyes gently through his mask before massaging his temples with his fingers; He had much to think about and couldn't quiet his mind long enough to think objectively. Robin walked over to a bulletin board in the corner of his room. It was strewn with newspaper clippings and photos, which Robin had painstakingly organized and categorized. Each of the articles that were pinned to the board dealt with Slade.

In each instance, Robin tried to understand exactly what made his greatest nemesis tick.

Robin stared pensively at the board as his mind began to wander. Soon, he began trying to piece together exactly what Slade was planning, yet he could not quite put his finger on it. What could Slade have hoped to gain by breaking Cinder Block out of prison and having him destroy the Jump City Bridge. Other than disrupting traffic, inconveniencing the city, and raising chaos, there was nothing to be gained from destroying the bridge. Though it was an important structure, it could easily be repaired and there was nothing particularly unique about it.

Robin was stumped.

He turned away from his bulletin board for a moment and leaned against the wall, allowing himself to slowly crumple to a heap on the floor.

His mind went blank for a moment as he could not figure out exactly what Slade had planned.

This silence, however, did not last.

This brief moment of clarity allowed the severity of his actions to sink in, and memories of the battle with Cinder Block began to emerge and linger.

Robin sat on the floor with his back against the wall. Memories from the battle flipped through Robin's mind quickly, like pictures in a slideshow. At first, his intent was to replay the battle in his mind to see if there was anything—even the smallest of clues—that may have been overlooked. Cinder Block's assault on the city was the only lead that the Titans had and Cinder Block was the common thread between the Titans and Slade. Slade knew that Cinder Block was powerful and impressionable. He knew that Cinder Block could carry out a lot of the grunt work, so long as he had proper instruction. Bearing that in mind, it only made sense to use Cinder Block as a pawn; not only was it an intelligent tactical move, it also made Slade more difficult to capture.

Soon, though, Robin's thoughts wandered—and when they did, his decision to leave the twins behind entered his mind once again. Robin had been trying with all of his might to avoid thinking about what he had done, but once the memories began to emerge, they could not be contained.

Robin closed his eyes tightly, trying to shake the thoughts from his mind.

As he did, however, it was as though he was back on the Jump City Bridge again, staring down at the twins' crying forms.

He could see the blonde girl and her nearly identical brother lying motionless on the asphalt, crimson stains in their blonde hair and spreading on the Titan uniforms he himself had given them. He could see the piles of rubble and twisted pieces of metal which had collapsed on top of them, severely injuring them and leaving them on the edge of death. He could hear their labored breathing and the muffled whimpers of pain and desperation.

But above all else, Robin could see the terror in their eyes as they said their last four words.

"Robin, please..."

"Help us…"

Though the twins may have been too critically injured to speak more than that, they hadn't needed to: their eyes—their piercing blue eyes—had been ablaze with fear, desperation, and unholy terror. It hadn't been an ordinary fear, however... like the fear one might experience when seeing a spider or walking in on a pop quiz. This fear had been _primal…_ this fear dealt with the delicate balance between _life_ and _death—_and when his friends had needed him the most, he'd abandoned them like trash.

The sound of pounding at his door shook Robin from his reverie, from which he awoke panting and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He quickly bolted to his feet, wiped the sweat from his brow and tried to compose himself as he walked swiftly toward his door and opened it—revealing Raven's cloaked figure standing before him.

"R-Raven… uh, is there something wrong?" Robin asked.

Raven stared at Robin blankly for a moment, struggling to think of the right words to say.

"Robin… I just wanted… to see… if everything's okay," Raven rasped gently, trying to put on a strong front.

Robin, taken by surprise by Raven's inquiry, tried to quickly hide his palpable guilt and shame as he thought of an answer.

"I'm alright, I guess…" Robin replied, voice trailing off as he averted his gaze from Raven's eyes to the floor. "You know, under the circumstances…"

Once again, his mind was deluged with visions of the twins, bleeding and alone on the Jump City Bridge. The guilt and shame that Robin had been trying so hard to swallow and bury within himself began to boil over. Raven could sense that something was wrong; in fact, she could feel the guilt emanating off of Robin like waves of heat. She placed her pale hand on his shoulder, and looked him directly in the eyes.

"What happened to the twins cannot be changed. What they did… what they sacrificed for those people on the bridge can never be taken away from them. Persephone and Patrokalos died doing what they believed was right," Raven said in a trembling voice as she choked back her tears; even though Raven's hood was up and casting a dark shadow over her face, Robin could see tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she spoke to him. "Most importantly, they weren't alone because you were right there by their side. Their biggest fear in life was being alone... and you soothed it in death."

Robin swallowed hard, trying to mask his incredible guilt upon hearing that.

His heart was beating like a jackhammer—so hard and so fast that it threatened to burst from his chest.

"I… guess that you are right, Raven," Robin replied, normally assertive voice trembling with uncertainty. "I knelt by their sides and tried my best to keep them comfortable… I talked to them… I tried my best to sound optimistic and reassuring… but I guess it doesn't mean much now."

"You're wrong… it means more than you'll ever know, Robin, because I myself just found out from Cyborg that the twins went through some horrible things when they were a child. He told me that the two of them had always been alone because of their differences, but because of us, they found a loving family… you stayed with them and kept her calm. If you hadn't been there to talk to Percy and Patty... to stay by their sides…" Raven stopped for a moment, forced to choke back her emotions once again. "If you hadn't stayed by their sides, Robin… they would have died alone, cold, and afraid on that bridge. Instead, they died with honor… as a hero and heroine who knew they were loved despite what they went through during her life."

Robin nodded in assent, but did not speak because his mouth wouldn't work: he suddenly felt sick, because he hadn't known much about their past, either, but he flashed a meek smile to Raven and took a long deep breath, trying to quiet the sickening butterflies in his stomach. He truly felt like a monster now, and he didn't exactly know what to do about it.

"How are you holding up, Raven?" Robin asked with an air of concern in his voice.

Raven looked at her leader blankly for a moment: what she was feeling inside was truly ineffable; a combination of guilt, anger, love, loss, remorse, and regret seemed to meld into one inside the pit of her stomach, burn white-hot, and perpetuate her misery. Regardless of how hard she tried to hide her true feelings, she could not lie to herself. However, in Raven's mind, it was more important to appear outwardly strong than to indulge her emotions.

"I'll be fine," Raven replied with as much sincerity as she could muster. "What the Harmony Twins did was incredibly brave… we should be proud of them. We should be celebrating their lives, not mourning their deaths. I think it's what they would have wanted."

"Yeah…" Robin said almost inaudibly. "When we have their… their… memorial service, we'll focus on who they were, not how they died. We need to remember them as the people we knew. Terra also needs to be told... we need to inform her."

"I'm going to talk to Beast Boy before I try and meditate," Raven replied evenly, cringing slightly.

It seemed horrible to be talking about a funeral so soon.

Robin just shook his head in agreement and quickly turned around, listening to the door hiss shut. He walked over to his bed and sat on the corner, burying his head in his hands. He had lied to his friends before—particularly the time he'd gone undercover as Red X. However, unlike that instance… this lie felt dirty. When he'd been posing as Red X, he _had_ been lying, but it had been for the right reasons; he'd hoped to catch Slade off guard.

Lying about abandoning the twins was ignoble; he had abandoned two teenagers in pursuit of a personal vendetta—leaving them to die alone and afraid. Robin winced at the thought; he knew now that he'd made the wrong decision, but there was no turning back. If he told them the truth… if he told his friends that he'd left the twins behind, they would never forgive him—or worse, they would condemn him.

At the same time, if he continued to lie to his friends and abuse their trust, he was no better than any other criminal; he was no better than Slade himself. Robin sat dejectedly on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. As vestiges of light lit up Robin's room, he could see his reflection in the mirror, but he didn't recognize himself.

"What have I done?" Robin whispered softly; suddenly, the alarms in the Tower started going haywire, signaling trouble. Robin stood up and darted to the computer to assess the situation. After a glance, Robin pulled out his communicator and hailed the others. "Titans, Cinder Block is on the move…"


	24. Chapter 23: 'Just Like Me'

**Chapter Twenty-Three: "Just Like Me..."  
**

After contacting the other Titans, Robin put his communicator back in his utility belt.

He quickened his step, feeling the familiar uneasiness which consumed him prior to every battle; it was a mixture of adrenaline, determination, and fear that guided Robin. While he was calm and calculating in action, the impetus behind his heroics was a cloistered sense of fear, which—while omnipresent—remained buried deeply in the back of his mind. His fear drove him, making him strive to be the best possible leader he could be.

While these fears kept him grounded, they also caused him great distress: they spoke to him… nagged at him.

He worried constantly about the safety of Jump City and his friends. He feared that he would be cast aside or abandoned if he wasn't perfect. Now, the voice in the back of Robin's mind gnawed away at him, chiding him for a decision that he could not abrogate. As he entered the Common Room, Robin cringed; He knew that in order to do his job properly, he would have to put all that had happened out of his mind. A part of him—a small but significant part of him—felt like it was dying. It was as though the light inside of his soul was being asphyxiated, leaving behind the cold, unforgiving darkness.

Robin moved to the computer posthaste, generating a map of the city. With skill and precision, Robin quickly triangulated the position of the distress signal, which was coming from the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility. Robin stared blankly at the screen for a moment, trying to deduce the logic behind Cinder Block's latest assault on Jump City.

"Why would Cinder Block attack the City's water supply?" Robin asked himself quietly.

He stared listlessly at the computer for a moment, hoping that an answer would come to light. He roughly rubbed his temples with his fingers in a vain attempt to regain focus and understand the motive behind the actions of the stone behemoth. Robin's concentration was broken, however, by the hissing sound of the door to the Common Room. Robin turned his head and saw Starfire standing gingerly in the doorway; she looked more like a wounded lamb than a super-heroine. Robin stared at Starfire in disbelief for a moment when he witnessed the drastic change in her personality: she looked as though she had been through hell and back. The normally bubbly and blithe demeanor she exuded had been subdued by an evident and all-consuming sorrow. Her eyes were bloodshot and rubbed red from crying, and her auburn hair was matted down on one side and disheveled. Seeing Starfire—the most jubilant of the Titans—in this state really tore at Robin... especially since they had connected so much lately.

He stood up and walked over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder while thinking of something uplifting to say.

"Starfire," Robin said softly, "You don't have to lock yourself away in your room. Losing the twins was the worst thing that has ever happened to this team, but that's how we'll get through it… together. I'm here for you if you need me. When you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen."

Starfire looked at Robin with tears in her eyes as he spoke, but she didn't say anything; instead, she leaned over and pulled Robin into a tight embrace, burying her face into his chest. Her tears soaked into his uniform, leaving visible, wet marks. Robin responded by wrapping his arms around the Tamaranian, pulling her close. With Robin's arms around her, Starfire's manic sobbing soon ebbed to a despondent whimper, and she was able to compose herself. She pulled away from him for a moment and looked him in the eyes. Her expression was deadened, as though something she'd always had on the inside had died right along with the twins; he couldn't help but take note of her mercurial state.

"Please, Star, talk to me," Robin said genuinely.

Starfire looked at Robin, still ineffably shaken, and looked down at the floor. She nervously rubbed her hands together and hung her head.

"Robin… why is your world so cruel?" Starfire finally managed to ask. Her words cut through Robin and sliced him to the core; Starfire had clearly been destroyed by the loss of the twins—so much so that she was searching for an explanation.

How could he explain that sometimes things—horrible things—happened in the world by chance?

"I'm sorry, Starfire," Robin said gently into Starfire's ear, pulling her into a hug once more. "What happened can't be taken away, no matter how much we would like to. That is just the way the world works. We can overcome the sadness though… if we support each other."

"We must proceed with caution," Starfire said, turning her head and staring vacantly out the window. "I do not desire to lose any more of my family."

The door to the Common Room hissed open a second time, this time revealing Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg.

Raven, who had been putting on a brave front while choking back her unbridled emotions, was continuing the charade. She quickly floated to the middle of the Common Room next to Starfire and Robin and gently set her feet on the floor. Beast Boy, on the other hand, didn't try to mask his emotions. As he stepped into the Common Room, he wore no expression whatsoever. He looked directly ahead and walked in carefully calculated—almost deliberate—steps. He stood next to the others quietly for a moment as Cyborg padded in silently, no cheerfulness or excitement on his face.

"Okay, team," Robin said confidently, ignoring the morose atmosphere of the room. "Cinder Block is currently downtown. I've pinpointed his position and determined that he's at the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility; currently, I cannot think of a motive. More importantly, we need to stop him. We can't afford to let him slip through our fingers again."

Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg looked blankly at Robin as he spoke to them. They seemed uninspired at best and unwilling at worst. His words, which were meant to fire up the team and get them motivated to butt heads with Cinder Block once more seemed to carry no weight with the other Titans. Their minds were simply elsewhere.

"TITANS!" Robin snapped loudly, getting their attention in the process, "Listen up! What happened to the twins was awful, and I guarantee you that even though it hurts like hell right now, that pain is _nothing_ compared to the agony that you would feel if someone _else_ we care about was hurt by Cinder Block! Time will heal our wounds, but we have a job to do, so let's take all of our pain… and _smother_ him with it."

As Robin finished, the Titans rallied around one another.

The words of their leader had struck a chord; though what he had to say wasn't what they wanted to hear, at that moment it was what they needed to hear. With a common goal and a common enemy, the Titans prepared for battle. Robin led the assault on the surface in the R-Cycle. Raven quickly ascended into the sky and began to fly in the direction of the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility. Cyborg, without a mode of transportation after the destruction of the T-Car, got a lift from Starfire, who quickly flew off with him in her grasp.

Robin burned rubber to keep up with Raven and Starfire who were flying overhead. It was now mid-morning and the sun was shining brightly from above, bathing the city in light. A discernable chill still clung to the air and whipped Robin's face and arms as he forged on, pushing the R-cycle to it's limit. Soon, the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility came into view. It was a large structure which stood directly next to a river. A thick, garrison-like outer wall stood in front of the main structure, meant to deter potential trespassers from tampering with the City's water supply.

The main structure was a plain brick building, with smoke stacks reaching out toward the sky. A series of large pipes siphoned water off from the river and carried it into the plant, where it would be cleaned and made safe for public use. As the Titans neared the large outer wall of the plant, it became evident that Cinder Block had been there; a gaping hole had been opened up in the outer wall, which was around four or five feet thick. Robin pulled up to the outer wall and dismounted the R-Cycle, removing his helmet and tossing it aside.

Raven descended from the sky gracefully, setting her feet down on the asphalt; Starfire set Cyborg down on the ground before gently landing.

"He was definitely here," Raven said, with tinges of rage permeating her tone.

"Let's go in there… all out… and hit anything that moves with all we've got," Beast Boy hissed out, pupils contracting into slits. Garfield Logan, who had been taking Persephone's death the hardest, had been reticent—preferring to detach from his teammates and mourn his lost love in his own way.

It quickly became clear, however, that his grief had turned to rage.

"Beast Boy, we need to be smart about this if we want to be successful," Robin reminded him. "Cinder Block might have bricks for brains, but Slade doesn't. If he is the one pulling the strings behind Cinder Block, you can bet he did his homework,"

Cyborg grunted, irritated by Robin's stern reproach toward the changeling: the grass stain had lost his girlfriend and the monster responsible for it was close at hand. Beast Boy and Robin hadn't always seen eye-to-eye when it came to leading the Titans, and in the past he'd kept his mouth shut and done his job... but not this time. This time there would be no compromise… there would be no mercy.

Robin took the helm and led the team through the hole in the outer wall and toward the entrance to the large brick structure. They approached the entrance of the facility cautiously. Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire took to the air to remain out of sight; Cyborg and Robin on the other hand quickly ran through the yard surrounding the plant, using the cascading shadows from the smokestacks as natural cover. As they approached the building, it was obvious that Cinder Block had been there; the steel doors to the building had been torn from their hinges, crumpled, and cast aside like trash.

"Raven, can you get a visual on the inside of the plant?" Robin whispered almost inaudibly. The girl responded with a single nod. She levitated off of the ground, enveloped in dark energy. She crossed her legs Indian-style, outstretched her arms, and closed her eyes before chanting her mantra of power.

"Azarath… Metrion… Xanthus…" she uttered, and the dark aura which surrounded her swirled in the air for a moment before taking the form of a raven, and disappearing into the thick brick walls which comprised the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility. Raven continued to hover a few feet off of the ground as her soul-self took a closer look at the inside of the plant. A few moments later, the dark energy emerged from the building and merged with Raven, who opened her eyes and gently set herself back on the ground. "I don't like this, Robin."

"What did you see?" Robin demanded, growing evermore tenacious.

"Cinderblock is inside, but he's just standing there… waiting," Raven replied with an air of concern present in her tone.

"He is waiting for us, yes?" Starfire asked curiously as she floated a few feet off of the ground, waiting for the order to attack.

Robin gritted his teeth: it was a trap, that much was certain.

Like moths to the flame they were drawn into another precarious predicament. If they entered the plant, they were fighting on unknown, enclosed territory, where Cinderblock would have the obvious tactical advantage. With the loss of the Twins, their chances of winning that battle were back to being as slim as they had when they'd first joined. If they chose not to fight, Cinderblock would have the City's water supply at his mercy.

In other words, the monster was jeopardizing countless innocent lives.

"Robin, shall we attack?" Starfire asked eagerly.

Robin remained silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of his decision.

His mind quickly wandered off again, remembering how his poorly his last decision had turned out: he still couldn't shake off the look of terror in Patty and Percy's electric blue eyes… it pervaded his every thought. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He just knelt on the ground motionless. Robin's mind was blank; the only words he could hear were the last words they had exchanged with each other. Those words echoed in his mind incessantly. His surroundings became a blur and his friend's voices, which were entreating him to make a decision, grew faint.

He was numb… shell-shocked.

_"Robin, please..." Persephone whimpered. _

_"Help us..." Patrokalos begged. _

_"Sorry, Harmony Twins…" he replied coldly, turning his back on them forever. "I wish there was some other way,"_

"Robin! C'mon man, where's your head? What's the decision?" Cyborg growled. Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven stood there—feeling awestruck at the sight of their leader staring off into space at a critical moment in battle. Beast Boy finally reached over and started to gently shake Robin, hoping to snap him out of his unresponsive state. Suddenly, the wheels began turning in Robin's mind again and he slumped forward, panting heavily.

"You okay, man?" the changeling asked quietly, concern in his tone.

The truth was, Robin didn't know… nothing like that had ever happened to him before. It was like an out of body experience; he'd tried to move and speak, but couldn't. He quickly caught his breath and wiped some sweat from his brow and cleared his mind long enough to give an order.

"Titans, GO!" Robin croaked loudly.

Raven and Starfire quickly flew into the facility with Beast Boy, followed quickly by Cyborg—who ran through the gaping hole where the steel doors used to be. Robin stood perplexed for a moment, not quite understanding what had happened to him. He took a few more deep breaths and followed the other Titans into the plant. The plant was deceptively large on the inside; from the outside, it looked like any other brick building. The facility housed a labyrinth of large pipes, which carried water through several large filtration machines. Moreover, the facility contained ten large compression tanks which held additional water. The tactical advantage was soundly in Cinderblock's hands; there were a myriad of hiding places, even for one as distinguishable as Cinderblock. Additionally, the space inside of the facility was rather cluttered, which favored Cinderblock's rather primitive fighting style.

Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven flew cautiously, not quite knowing quite what to expect.

Cyborg conducted a quick scan of the area, but couldn't get a lock on Cinderblock. He nervously walked toward the large compression tanks with his sonic cannon charged and at the ready. Robin lagged behind slightly; he'd begun to realize what a bad idea this was. The facility was deathly quiet; only the droning of the filtration machines was audible.

The Titans ventured a little further into the factory; the tension in the room grew stronger with every step they took.

Suddenly, a loud, angry growl emanated from the back of the filtration plant. The sound of metal crunching filled the air, followed thereafter by the sound of water gushing out on to the concrete floor. Cinderblock emerged from his hiding space with one of the large compression tanks in his clutches. With minimal effort, he hurled the large steel container across the floor, directly at Cyborg and Robin.

Cyborg, ignoring his gut instinct, ran toward the container and hit it head on, stopping its momentum. The compression tank did no physical harm to the Titans; however it divided the facility in half, lying lengthwise across the floor. Cyborg quickly climbed over the obstacle, joining Starfire and Raven in taking the fight to Cinderblock.

Raven quickly enveloped Cinderblock in dark energy: she focused every ounce of her energy on containing the monster and preventing him from breaking free; this time he would not get away. He struggled mightily to break free from the swirling darkness surrounding him, however the harder he fought, the harder Raven fought back.

"Not this time, you little bastard!" Raven snarled, eyes beginning to glow red: she was losing control, but didn't care.

As Cinderblock struggled to break free, Starfire let out a shriek of rage as her eyes began glowing white instead of the usual green and unleashed a volley of blinding white starbolts at the imprisoned stone creature. The attacks were greatly successful, landing squarely on Cinderblock's face and causing him to howl in pain. Cyborg diverted almost all of his energy into his sonic cannon, making it charged and ready to go. One shot would drain his power cells .

He took aim at Cinderblock.

"Harmony Twins… this one's for you," Cyborg hissed to himself as he fired his shot with a deafening sound: the beam smashed into Cinderblock, but the stone criminal howled in agony as the force from the shot tore right through his shoulder—blowing a gaping hole straight through it. Cyborg fell to the floor, his power cells drained from the attack. He collected himself and moved behind one of the other compression tanks, hoping to catch his breath.

He cursed himself.

"How could I have missed? I had a clear shot. Why… why couldn't I just blow him away?" Cyborg muttered under his breath. With his back to the compression tank, the hulking teenager slowly slid to the floor: he had no energy left to fight and was going on emergency power, which only covered his vital systems. He pounded his large fist against the side of the steel compression tank, putting a sizable dent into it.

"Today is your lucky day, Cinderblock," Cyborg said to himself, still kicking himself for missing his shot.

Starfire and Raven continued the assault on the monster.

"This is for my girlfriend, you fucker!" Beast Boy roared angrily, transforming into a gorilla and beating the stone behemoth with his clenched fists.

Starfire's rage intensified her unusually-colored starbolts and they grew bigger as she continued to slam him into his body. With each crushing blow, Cinderblock lost more and more strength; despite not being a direct hit, the wound Cyborg had inflicted greatly weakened him. Starfire and Beast Boy continued to beat Cinderblock until the stone monster fell limply to the ground, having no energy left to fight back or escape. Raven, however, could no longer control herself and wailed in agony. All she could think about were the twins; the young girl she had grown to love like family... the lost child who had viciously been stolen from her world. The handsome boy she had fallen in love with, only to have him snatched right out of her arms.

Raven's eyes began to glow blood red, and two more appeared beneath them; Rage had taken over.

With Cinderblock still in her clutches, Raven smashed him against the ceiling.

"You are a _waste_ of _life!"_ Raven shrieked, twisting her body like a dancer and smashing Cinderblock against the floor and then against the walls. She screamed in a rage as she flung her hands to the ground and smashed him into the floor again before blowing a hole in the wall of the facility and carrying Cinderblock out over the water. She grinned maniacally, large eyes glowing bright red as tears streamed down her face. "Let's see if shit floats."

"Friend, do not do this!" Starfire pleaded, flying out after Raven.

"Stay out of this, Starfire!" Raven screeched angrily; as she turned around, preparing to drop Cinderblock into the River, she was suddenly struck from behind and fell to the ground in a heap with a large body on top of her.

"Sorry, Rae…" Beast Boy said somberly, rolling off of her back with a groan; without Raven to hold him, Cinderblock fell into the water—and Starfire quickly flew after him and fished him out, tossing him to the side. He lay there motionless, unable to muster the strength to flee. Starfire quickly flew to Raven and Beast Boy's side, helping them to their feet.

"W-what happened?" Raven muttered quietly, rubbing the side of her head. "What did I do?"

"Beast Boy restrained you, for you would have killed the Cinderblock," Starfire shakily explained. "I know your heart is broken for friends Patrokalos and Persephone… mine is as well, but killing the Cinderblock will not revive our friends."

Raven sat on the concrete and buried her head in her hands while Beast Boy rubbed his throbbing arm, bursting into tears as Starfire knelt by her side.

"They're gone, Starfire! They're gone forever, and it's my fault! It's because I couldn't keep a hold on the truck!" Raven croaked, face twisting up before she squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed hoarsely; once the tears started, they didn't stop. "When it slipped away, so did they! I never told Patty I loved him , not even _once!_ I never even told Percy I thought of her as a sister! It's my fault! It's my fault, and I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I just want them to come back!"

Starfire sat down next to her friend, staring at the mid-day sky.

When the titans tried to think of a time Raven had looked so broken, they couldn't remember one.

"It is my belief that in order to accept any misfortune, we must relinquish the illusion of control. We cannot bring our friends back, but they are never really gone so long as we never stop loving them," the alien princess said softly, biting her lip as tears filled her own eyes; she began to cry as well when Raven continued to sob, and she hugged her friend as they let out their pain through tears. An unspoken understanding of the pain developed between them, providing a semblance of comfort.

But all pain can ever really be… is pain.

**TXXXXXT**

Robin searched for a way to get around the large steel container which separated the facility into two halves. With the plant being the labyrinth that it was, it made using his grappling hook impossible to use. Similarly, he did not want to risk damaging any more of the equipment, as it could have an adverse effect on the City's water supply. He stood there with a perplexed expression, trying to think of a way around the impasse.

"Hello, Robin, it certainly has been a while," an oily voice suddenly said emphatically.

Robin quickly turned around and saw him; a man, dressed in a black and orange bodysuit, clad with armor: Slade.

"Slade," Robin snarled angrily, "What are you up to?"

"Calm yourself, Robin, I am not here to fight you. I am here to thank you." Slade responded evenly.

The man's words cut through Robin, and the teenager reached in his belt for his bo-staff, readying it for an attack.

"I'm not interested, Slade," Robin growled. "I'm not going to play this game."

"Really, now?" Slade replied coldly. "Well, how about we play another game? This game is called 'Deception,' and I know for a fact that you are an expert at it."

Robin rushed at Slade, thrashing at him with his bo-staff. Each blow missed, for the man was able to effectively dodge them. Robin continued his assault, leaping into the air to deliver a spinning back-kick, which Slade once again avoided. Robin—growing evermore frustrated—began to lose his temper and thrash at Slade violently, with little control. Slade countered by landing a punch to Robin's ribs and grabbing a hold of Robin's bo-staff.

The two males began jockeying for possession of the staff.

"I'm nothing like you, Slade!" Robin hissed. "You are a monster!"

"Deny it if you will, Robin," Slade retorted, mocking the boy. "However, _you_ are more like _me_ than you can imagine."

"LIAR!" Robin shouted, wrestling the staff away from Slade, who jumped back for a chance to regroup.

"I know, Robin... I know what you have done… what you continue to do," Slade sneered, chuckling to himself; with a deafening war cry, Robin attacked Slade, wildly swinging his staff. Slade was able to block the attacks and land a crushing blow to Robin's jaw, causing him to fall to the floor and drop his staff. Blood oozed from Robin's lip as he tried to get to his feet. Slade kicked Robin in the head, knocking him on his back again before pinning him to the ground with his foot. "Good help is hard to find, you know... Cinderblock is a pawn, but he is formidable with proper guidance. I sent him to destroy the Jump City Bridge to get your attention, and I clearly succeeded."

"Get off me!" Robin hissed as he tried to squirm free, but the command only prompted Slade to put more weight on the foot that was pinning him to the floor. Robin began to have trouble breathing, forcing him to stop struggling.

"I never expected Cinderblock to succeed so completely… nor did I expect the Harmony Twins to get caught in the crossfire," Slade continued. "I remember watching the battle unfold on the bridge security cameras. You walked over to them, looked at them… and abandoned them—just like everyone else. It was so delightfully _sinful."_

"No," Robin moaned in agony, gasping for air.

"You did more harm in that instant than I _ever_ could have inflicted," Slade purred gleefully. "What's better _still_ is that you left them to die _alone…_ so you could chase after _me._ I am overjoyed to have driven you to your current predicament because you _cannot_ win now, Robin: if your friends find out what you did, they will cast you aside like any common criminal. The only way to prolong your imminent fate is to perpetuate the lies, but every time you deceive them… every time you bend the truth to cover up your tracks… know that you become more like me."

"You're insane…" Robin groaned, and Slade laughed loudly, taking his foot off of the teenager's chest. The boy wonder gasped for air and quickly got to his feet. As Slade turned to walk away, Robin lunged at him; expecting the attack, Slade swung around and dodged the right hook that Robin threw at him, countering with an uppercut that sent Robin to the floor.

"Remember, Robin," Slade retorted evenly. "You can't keep your charade up forever: they will find out, and the Titans will be no more. I won't even have to throw a punch, because in the end, you will end up being my apprentice. With every new lie, the more you become just... like... me."

Slade turned and walked away, and Robin could only spit up blood—watching helplessly as the silhouette of his greatest enemy slipped away into the mid-morning light.


	25. Chapter 24: The Comprimise

**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Comprimise**

The office was dark; the fluorescent overhead lights were kept off in favor of a desk lamp sporting a commonplace sixty watt bulb which was burning softly. The blinds over the windows were also tightly closed, refusing to let the glorious sunshine outside from bleeding into the office. The telephone on the desk was taken off of the hook. The framed pictures and degrees which adorned the walls were shrouded in darkness. A few plants also decorated the room, casting long silhouettes on the walls and floor.

Dr. Andrews sat wearily at his desk, looking weathered and high-strung.

It had been two days since he'd performed the surgery on the twins, and though the god and goddess had managed to pull through, they had yet to awaken from their comas. The man knew that the longer the twins remained comatose, the less likely it was that either one would emerge from it.

The Good Doctor heaved a great sigh and rubbed his eyes roughly with his fingers.

For whatever reason, he felt as though there was more he should have been able to do; it was this feeling that was keeping him awake, replaying the operation over and over again in his head. He looked downtrodden, nervously chewing his nails as he stared off into space. He thought of all he had done to save the twins and knew that it was out of his hands, but still, he cursed himself and continued wishing that there was something more he could do… anything that would help to swing the odds in the angels' favor.

Dr. Andrews reached across his desk, grabbed his coffee cup, and took a swig. He was barely able to restrain a gag as the cold, black liquid slithered down his gullet. Dr. Andrew's face twisted into a grimace as the bitter aftertaste lingered. He rose from his desk, coffee cup in hand, and walked over to the sink where he dumped the remainder of his coffee down the drain. Good riddance: life was much too short for bad-tasting coffee.

As he stood above the sink, watching the liquid swirl into the drain, he thought about his career in medicine.

He had been practicing medicine for many years now—nineteen to be exact—and in that time had experienced both the agony of losing a patient and the ineffable pleasure of saving one. To Dr. Andrews, medicine was like a scale; saving someone's life was always a thrill, but it could be quickly overshadowed by the hollow feeling that accompanied losing a patient. As a surgeon, the only way he could hold his head high was to know unequivocally that he had everything he could to save someone's life. Though he had gone the extra mile to save the twins, Dr. Andrews was dissatisfied; he knew all he could do was wait… and wait… and wait… and hope all the while that the Harmony Twins would awaken from their comas.

Dr. Andrews threw his coffee mug against the wall, clenching the counter by the sink in frustration as the shattered remnants of the cup clattered noisily to the floor. It was unlike him to lose control of his emotions... but _this_ case—more than any he had faced before— had tested his skill, prowess, and mettle. _This_ case was a matter of personal pride to Dr. Andrews, who cringed at the thought of being known worldwide as the surgeon who let two superheros slip away. While his pride contributed to his uneasiness, something greater—much deeper—gnawed at the man.

When he looked at either one of the twins, he didn't just see a patient, but something _more…_ he saw children; someone no older than his own son and daughter, who—despite being in their teens—still needed him very much, whether they wanted to admit it or not. He couldn't help but feel slightly overprotective of the twins; it was his paternal instinct coming to light. Moreover, he saw an amazing Hero and Heroine: the Teen Titans had done a great deal for Jump City over the years. They had fiercely been protecting it from criminals, safeguarding it from evil, and providing peace of mind to the citizenry. What the twins had done that night—though unheralded and unseen by most—was a true act of heroism.

They had made a great sacrifice for the greater good.

Above all though, Dr. Andrews saw an opportunity. It was always a rare treat in life to have the means to dramatically improve the plight of another; Dr. Andrews felt as though he were in a position to save the twins for a reason. Fate had smiled upon him, furnishing an opportunity for him to actively improve the world. Still, the waiting game was never easy, nor was it pleasant.

Dr. Andrews nearly jumped out of his skin as the bright fluorescent lights snapped on and his office door slammed open violently. His eyes burned angrily from the shock the intense light had caused them, and he nearly toppled over as he stumbled backward into the wall, resulting in a loud thud.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" a thin twenty-something nurse asked, her dirty blonde ponytail bouncing as she ran to Dr. Andrews' side, dropping her clipboard along the way. The Doctor mumbled a few obscenities under his breath as he blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes to help them adjust to the incandescent light which now permeated the room. He swallowed his anger, taking a few deep breaths to calm his frazzled nerves.

"Rebecca, what exactly are you doing?" Dr. Andrews asked sternly; the young nurse looked hurt by the Doctor's reaction, and stood sheepishly, nervously rubbing her hands together, thinking of her explanation.

"I heard something break as I was doing my rounds, and I wanted to make sure you were okay," she said apologetically. Dr. Andrews felt foolish for chiding the young woman, especially since she'd apparently only been concerned for his safety. He smiled at the nurse, who was practically beside herself, and tried to put her at ease.

"I just dropped my coffee cup, is all—clumsy old me," he said gently. "Sorry for scaring you like that, Rebecca… I just have a lot on my mind."

tThe doctor's comments soothed the nurse, who immediately perked back up and smiled brightly, picking her clipboard up off of the floor.

"If you need anything just let me know, okay Doctor?" Rebecca chirped happily.

Dr. Andrews nodded affirmatively and smiled back at the nurse, who turned and walked back out of his office to continue her rounds. The man walked over to the doorway and flipped the lights back off in his office before walking over to his desk and sitting back down in his leather chair. He cupped his head in his hands and though his mind was racing, he remained reticent. .

"What good am I if I can't save one person's life?" Dr. Andrews wondered to himself.

**TXXXXXT**

_Persephone and Patrokalos sat on the rocks by the water surrounding Titan's Tower, taking in all that had transpired with their father. For the first time that either blonde could remember, they were both completely at ease. No traces of guilt were present; it was almost as though a great burden had lifted away from their slender shoulders. The two of them could feel the tension that normally twisted and churned inside their bodies slowly being relieved; they could feel their muscles loosening and relaxing until the twins were at peace._

_Patty squeezed his sister's hand as he looked out on the water, watching the sunlight reflect off of its surface as satin strands of his long blonde hair twisted and played with the wind. The only sounds that filled the air was the soft babbling of the water as it encroached onto the rocks. The tranquil scent of the warm salty breeze added to the majesty of the moment. Persephone squeezed his hand in return, accepting his silent message._

_"This world," Persephone whispered, blue eyes soft and sparkling, "is a very strange and hostile place."_

_"That it is," Patrokalos agreed just as quietly, "and yet... it also has such amazing beauty that I keep finding myself surprised by it."  
_

_The twins fell silent after that and continued to look back on all that had happened, reminiscing over how their lives had changed._

_They thought about how they'd first met the Titans and being chased around the Tower; they thought about saving their friends from the alien dragon and being covered in yellow goop; they thought about the moment they'd been accepted as Titans themselves, and about Slade's treacherous actions towards them; they thought about Terra's resurrection and the sacrifice they'd experienced to bring her back; and finally, their thoughts strayed to their individual loves... Beast Boy and Raven._

_"I miss him," Persephone murmured sadly, shoulders trembling a little despite her resolve to stay strong. "I miss him so much that it aches."  
_

_"I know you do," Patrokalos responded weakly. "I miss her just as much."_

_Being normal, if only for a few years, had been like a taste of forbidden fruit: in a way, it had been a blessing to escape the feeling of being ridiculed for their godly powers and non-human race. Leading a carefree lifestyle certainly had its advantages... especially concerning the Titans._

_The twins also thought about their encounter with their father. For so many years, they had blamed themselves for losing control of their powers as children; they'd felt so guilty for so long that the terrible remorse had begun to feel ordinary to them... and they hadn't even cared when humanity had begun to abuse them. After so many years of self-flagellation and abuse by others, the twins found it extremely odd that all of their qualms and reservations could have been alleviated in just one conversation. Yet, they had never felt such an all-pervading sense of tranquility. Moreover, their father had helped them take an objective look at their life of heroism. _

_Their father's words resounded and prevailed._

_'You are my Legacy. Never forget that.'_

_In the past, particularly when they'd been younger, the twins had resented their plight in life: the two of them had hated being different from regular humans because of the way they were ostracized by the ignorant and the fearful. The two of them had ended up feeling so saturated by their own loneliness that their bodies had ached physically. Percy had Petty had felt the negative emotions of those around them so badly that they'd clung to each other only that much more: they had become inseparable because of their pain. Somehow, through standing beside each other, the twins had been able to endure the slings, arrows, and barbed comments. Somehow, despite all that they had been subjected to, the twins had still been able to see the inherent good in all people. Quite suddenly, the two angels came to an epiphany, one which had been previously obfuscated by their petty frustrations: it wasn't necessarily their belief in the good of mankind that had led to heroism; many people—ordinary people—felt the same way._

_Circumstances beyond their control had been set in motion the day they'd been born to a family of living, breathing Gods—and the events of their lives had led straight to their intrepid lifestyle. The natural abilities and powers that the twins had gained through their parents' bloodline had enabled them to be heroes; as painfully obvious as it seemed, Percy and Patty's lives were both their salvation and their scarlet letter._

_People all over the world wanted to be different or unique, to set themselves apart from the masses—but try as they might, those individuals often fell short of their lofty goals only to taste the bitterness of the mundane. For whatever reason, through a freak twist of fate, the Harmony Twins had been completely different through a birthright; though it occasionally tore their lives at the seams, it put them in a position to impact the world._

_"Being a hero isn't a chore..." Percy absently said to herself, long blonde hair lifting around her shoulders in the wind._

_"it's a calling," Patrokalos finished, squeezing her hand as his own hair shone like a golden cloud._

_Shaking their heads and giving each other a look, the Harmony Twins stood up and stretched before smoothing out their clothes. Both of them took a deep breath and allowed the warmth of the air to bathe their joined soul. Percy put her hands on her hips and looked out on the water once more, but the girl cocked her head to the side with a frown when she noticed that it was no longer as still as it had been. The water itself began to get choppier as small waves began washing over onto the shore._

_"Patty, look!" the girl whispered, clutching her brother's arm. "What's going on?"_

_"Eh?" the boy asked, looking down at the water and blinking in confusion when he noticed the strange stir in the ocean. "I don't know."_

_Cocking his head to the side with furrowed brows, the blonde boy stared a little more before he shrugged and knelt down in front of the ocean, gently splashing it on his face and washing away the lulling feeling of being half asleep. It was cold and refreshing, and the boy shook his head with a gasp of delight. Persephone blinked at him and did the same before she stared at her reflection: as she peered into the water, it became choppier. Small, weak waves soon gave way to larger more powerful waves, which pounded the shore angrily. Even those were overtaken by massive walls of water which crashed against rocks furiously._

_Patrokalos instantly leapt to his feet and jerked Percy backwards onto solid ground in order to avoid being swept into the waves._

_"I have a bad feeling that this isn't normal," the blonde boy hissed, glancing up at the sky in alarm when the sun, which had been shining magnificently overhead, disappeared behind a wall of thick storm clouds that quickly began spreading across the sky from every direction. The wind viciously began whipping from the east, bringing with it a callous and perceptible chill. The calming silence which had sweetly been hanging in the air brazenly ripped away as lightning began flashing through the sky, accompanied by deafening crashes of thunder._

_"I think I see what you mean," Persephone whispered in a tight voice._

_The twins stood in disbelief as the wind tore at their hair and school clothes with unseen fingers; wincing as the percussion-like thunder roared loudly, stinging their ears, the twins covered their eyes as the bright flashes of lightning burned them. Simultaneously, the skies opened up with a barrage of hail and stinging rain, which pelted at the blondes with merciless fervor._

_"Ow, ow!" Patty yelped, covering his head in surprise before he grabbed his sister's hand. "Let's get inside the tower! Hail is painful!"_

_"P-Patty, look!" Percy squealed, pointing at the ocean with a horrified expression._

_Patrokalos followed her finger and went pale when he realized the water of the ocean had begun drawing back with a dull roar: it was disappearing off into the horizon, where a huge bulge had appeared on the horizon. The twins watched with huge eyes as a vast stretch of rocks and sand was exposed: then Persephone glanced up and saw that a massive wall of water was rushing toward them, threatening to pulverize the island on which Titan's Tower stood. The girl let out a shriek before her brother turned around and bolted towards the tower, jerking her through the doors and bolting up the stairs as the rumble grew louder. Even in here, the thundering sound was a deafening roar._

_Just as the twins were just running onto the second floor, the tsunami crashed over the island and smashed out the windows in the rooms on their floor: metal doors began smashing out into the hall as the water slammed into the building, but when Patrokalos whirled around to dart back inside the stairwell with his sister, the door was slammed off its hinges and was thrown against the wall as water thundered down the stairs. As the hip-deep torrent smashed into their bodied, the twins were jerked out of each others hands and both of them let out two hysterical screams before were was pulled under the water and sent speeding down the corridor toward the windows. The twins tumbled with the raging current as it smashed through the glass, but when they began to fall separately from the liquid, Patrokalos flipped towards his sister and grabbed her arm._

_They immediately slung their arms out and summoned their wings in an explosion of blue fire—gliding to the ground as the water receded._

_Patty and Percy landed heavily on their stomachs when their wings dissolved again, but for a long time the two of them lay there—eyes squeezed shut as they frantically coughed up the water they'd swallowed. After a moment, Percy slowly pulled herself from the rocky shore, coughing up water as she got to her hands and knees. Water dripped from her soaked clothes and blonde hair as she coughed, chilled by the frigid east wind. However… it wasn't until she looked up through her curtain of hair that the girl realized she and her brother weren't alone; she and Patrokalos were literally resting less than a foot away from the doppelganger, who's piercing red eyes and billowing silver hair shone in the light._

_The girl's blue eyes went wide when she realized that she was staring directly at the Angel of Wrath. The evil entity smiled down at Persephone before picking both her and her coughing brother up off of the ground by their throats. Percy flailed wildly in an attempt to break free, but she was unable to because her brother was too far away: the blonde girl reached up and with both hands tried to pry herself loose from the demon's grasp, but was unsuccessful. Her blue eyes filled with terrified tears when the red-eyed entity stared at the two of them with a soft expression on her face._

_"Calm down, Persephone: if I wanted to hurt you and Patrokalos, both of you would be hurting already," the girl said condescendingly, letting out a sigh as she rolled her crimson eyes. So saying, the demon carelessly tossed the twins to the side: the girl and boy both landed roughly on the unforgiving ground and scraped their arms against the jagged rocks. Percy, however, quickly got to her feet and summoned her frozen swords before settling into a fighting stance, eyeing the demon warily; her brother merely sat up and stared at her when she protectively stood in front of him._

_"What do you want?" Percy squeaked angrily at her double._

_"You don't get it, do you?" the demonic angel asked inquisitively. "Fine, then I'll explain: for many years, you and Patrokalos have managed to keep me locked up behind that infernal door. You two are powerful, and on an individual level and not: I have only been able to break free from your control on occasion and, because of this, you have no idea what we are capable of if we all work together. I am a part of you, dear children."_

_Patrokalos grit his teeth and bared his fangs as the Beast sauntered closer to his twin: the rain continued to beat down on them as blasts of thunder and flashes of lightning punctuated the words coming from the Angel of wrath._

_"We told you! We're not interested!" Patty shouted, getting up and moving in front of his sister with a glare. _

_The silver-haired girl rushed Patty, who found himself unable to evade the faster, nimbler version of his sister. The red-eyed doppelganger grabbed him by the throat, lifting him clean into the air as though he weighed nothing, and slammed him down onto the rocks. Persephone's eyes widened in anger as her brother's pain slammed into her own body, and the girl leapt forward with a shriek, lifting her arms as she prepared to cut the silver-haired entity. _

_The Dark Angel glanced at her when she charged and merely stepped to the side in a blur. _

_Percy's eyes widened when the doppelganger whirled around and brought her knee straight into her stomach. The moment Percy doubled over, the demonic entity cracked her on the back of the neck and kicked her so hard in the temple that she went flying off her feet. Percy let out a cry of pain when she landed on her back next to her brother, gritting her teeth as the rocks cut into her skin. The faces of both twins twisted in pain when the Angel of wrath leapt on top of them and gripped their windpipes with tight fists._

_"I'm telling you that you have no choice!" their dark side shrieked back; the demonic half of twins' soul continued to choke them with a sly grin on her face and she only relented when she was sure that the twins wouldn't rise to their feet and try to fight again. "I warned you, children: we are the same people, only different halves of the shared soul. What is in your best interest is also in my best interest because, whether you like it or not, we are the same boy and girl. I choose to look as Persephone does because it suits my preference. However, the problem is that you two are putting all three of us in jeopardy to save weaker, inferior creatures. While I can say that I—in some small way—respect what you have done, I cannot stand idly by and let this foolishness continue. I am your guardian: I am going to do what I can in order for you two to keep living."_

_"What do you want from us?!" Persephone shrieked back. "We don't have anything you'd want!"_

_"We're not going to let you take control of our lives!" Patrokalos roared, gripping his twin's hand. "We'd rather die than become a monster like you!"_

_"You would, wouldn't you?" the Dark Angel said disconsolately, knowing that the twins were serious. "You are fools, Little Angels... because there's one problem I'm trying to explain to the two of you: you are going to have to make that decision a lot sooner than you may have hoped."_

_"What are you saying?" the twins asked at the same time._

_"We are dying, Children," the demonic angel replied plainly, tinges of anger present in her high-pitched tone. "Your bodies, despite being immune to aging like that of a human's, are mortal if you suffer an injury. A body can only take so much before it gives out… and I would say that yours have reached their limits."_

_Two hearts abruptly sank into the ground, and the twins shared a frightened glance; they had always known that death was inevitable, but they had never expected to actually make the decision themselves. The twins were torn: on one hand, accepting assistance from the Angel of Wrath would be a bad decision since the entity had done nothing for years other than bring destruction to those they'd loved… but death would be no better._

_"What is your plan?" Patrokalos asked, taking his sister's hand before he slowly got to his feet with her; the silver-haired girl smiled and extended her small hands to the twins; the blondes looked at her in horror, realizing at the same time what she had in mind._

_"Embrace me, little Angels," the Dark Angel whispered, red eyes glittering with an unfathomable emotion. "We can heal twice as fast if I take control of your bodies. It's either that or death… I know it is a tough call, but you have to trust me or all three of us will fall into the void of death!"_

_"What is going to happen to us?" Persephone asked sincerely, concern evident in her voice and electric blue eyes: the demon put both of her hands behind her back and paced back and forth, frustrated by their indecision._

_"It's simple, really: you will still have control of your minds… for the most part. I will no longer be as easy for you to control, restrain, or lock away. I will be able to have a greater impact on you when you are conscious," the demon finally stated. "In exchange, you will be stronger than you ever thought possible... and your powers will completely awaken. You will awaken as full-blooded angels and have complete control, for eternity."_

_Rain continued to fall around them as thunderclaps and flashes of lightning struck in union._

_The twins stood in silence for a long moment, faces mirroring each other with identical blank expressions. Neither one knew what to do: die, or live to fight another day? Normally, such a question would be a no-brainer, but the twins were worried about the price they would have to pay later on if they chose to trust their inner demon. The Dark Angel could sense their reluctance to commit one way or another and sighed in exasperation._

_"Guys, this shouldn't be such a difficult decision for you," the silver-haired girl muttered, irritated by their indecisiveness. "So, I won't be as easy for you two to push around—big deal! You guys will be alive! You'll be able to be heroes again! You'll be able to hang out with your lovers, Beast Boy and Raven, again—and who knows? All I am saying is that, sometimes, if you don't take a risk then you'll risk even more."_

_Percy and Patty shared a look before they closed their eyes: slowly, the two blondes walked closer to the demon, who once again extended her hands to the angels. The Harmony twins slowly placed their hands in the demon's, and they shook on their agreement: their clasped grips formed a triangle of living bodies. Suddenly, the world exploded into red as darkness was sucked into the twins' bodies: the twins fell to their knees with a shriek and a scream, pupils contracting at the same time as the Dark Angel disappeared into the reddening shadows and was sucked inside them._

_Their lungs felt as though they were on fire, and the twins could taste dried blood in the back of their mouths. Patty's left leg throbbed mercilessly in pain, Persephone's arm burned as though it were on fire, and the agony seemed to sear more intensely with each heartbeat. The twins managed to grab hands and crawled over to a nearby puddle despite the red-tinted shadows swirling around them and peered into it._

_When they caught a glimpse of their reflections, the twins froze at the same time; once again, they were covered in deep gashes, gouges, and cuts._

_The twins struggled to breathe as the air entering their lungs thickened; they gasped and panted uncontrollably._

_As the rain and wind continued to beat down on them, the Twins heard the voice of the Dark Angel._

_"I must apologize for the pain you will endure," she snarled. "We will live, children, that much I can assure you. I will live up to my end of this deal… and so will you—whether you like it or not."_

_"Patty, it hurts," Persephone wailed, convulsing in agony and letting out another shriek. "OW! OW, OW, OW, OW! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"_

_Her brother was too busy screaming in agony to reply._

_The twins writhed in agony on the ground as the pain became more and more intense: Persephone's muscles all tightened at once, and she felt as though she were about to be ripped apart from the inside out; trembling uncontrollably, the girl let out a shrieking wail of pain before an explosion of light flashed in front of her eyes and the world went white. Her brother's voice locked in a roar of agony was the last thing she remembered hearing._

**TXXXXXT**

Dr. Andrews drifted in and out of sleep in his office.

He was sitting in the dark once more, leaning back in his leather chair with his feet up on his desk. He hadn't slept in over a day and a half, but despite feeling too anxious to sleep, his body had apparently made other plans. He crossed his arms across his chest as his eyelids got heavier and heavier. Dr. Andrews's head slumped to the left as he began to catch some much-needed sleep.

A girl's bloodcurdling scream from down the hall, however, shook Dr. Andrews unkindly from his slumber.

Pnly a second later, a hysterical male voice joined in with the scream.

The sound of shattering glass exploded from somewhere inside the building.

Consumed by panic, the man tipped back in his chair—causing him to fall roughly to the floor. He quickly shook off the aching pain and made a beeline for the door to his office. He could hear the commotion from down the hall—but before he could even open his door, it swung open and a pudgy middle-aged orderly in dark blue scrubs appeared in the doorway, breathing a little heavily from sprinting down the hallway.

"Mark, what the hell is going on?!" Dr. Andrews practically shouted.

Markus, with his hands on his knees, quickly caught his breath and stood up straight before looking at the Doctor.

"We need your help, Dr. Andrews," Mark said, still breathing heavily.

"That doesn't really answer my question! What is going on?" Dr. Andrews demanded.

"It's the Harmony Twins," Mark said sternly, looking the doctor in the eyes. "They're awake."

That was all he needed to hear: without another word, Dr. Andrews bolted into the hallway and sprinted as fast as his feet could carry him. It was as though he had tunnel vision; nothing mattered more than getting to the Intensive Care Unit. The sound of his feet pounding the white linoleum floor beneath him echoed down the hallway, reverberating hollowly. As he ran, he weaved in and out of small crowds of people; namely nurses wheeling patients down the hall in wheelchairs, a teenage girl on crutches, and a small boy who had just received stitches, while making his way to the ICU.

His heart pounded rampantly.

With each step he took toward his destination, his anxiety increased; he didn't know what to expect, and the uncertainty was extremely unsettling. After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Andrews reached the end of the interminable hallway and turned to the right, where two large swinging doors stood before him. He pushed through the doors and began to walk down the hallway. The air in the hallway was stale, dry, and recycled; the fluorescent lights above were shining so brightly that they practically blinded him as he approached the room the twins were sharing. The most striking aspects of Dr. Andrews' journey to the ICU were not the sights or smells, but the _sounds_ emanating from the room the Harmony Twins were lying in.

Dr. Andrews could hear the sound of a huge struggle taking place: he could hear grunting, masculine screams, feminine shrieks, squeaks and squawks of pain, as well as an undetermined cacophonous banging sound on top of that—as though someone were throwing bricks against the wall. When he entered the room, Dr. Andrews was taken aback by what he saw. The twins were indeed awake: they were both flailing uncontrollably in their hospital bed. Persephone's slender arms were thrashing and her legs were wildly kicking about; Patrokalos was doing the same the same, but his left leg was motionless since it was elevated in traction so it would set and heal properly. The blonde boy's teeth were gritted, putting his long fangs on display for the world to see; his sister's eyes were huge with fright as she fought.

Amidst the chaos stood Rebecca, Will, and two petrified orderlies, all of which who were desperately trying to hold the twins down: they were struggling badly because of how strong the angels were, and the group of four strained their muscles as they attempted to hold the twins in place; it was taking every fiber of their muscle to restrain the injured angels, who continued to writhe madly and scream. Dr. Andrews quickly walked up to the side of the bed to assess the situation.

"Dr. Andrews!" Rebecca barked fearfully, her tidy blonde ponytail now a disheveled mess, "What do you want us to do?! They just started going crazy!"

"Yeah!" Will replied, tensing his muscles against Percy's movements, "She may be really small, but she's also really, really strong! I can't hold her for much longer!"

"You think you've got it bad?!" one of the orderlies squalled, frantically struggling to keep Patty pinned down when he snarled at them like an animal. Dr. Andrews looked at Rebecca, Will, and the two orderlies: they had done the right thing since the twins could have exacerbated their injuries or re-opened their wounds. As the man looked down at both of the twins, however, his opinion quickly changed: he didn't see madness in either of their eyes, but _terror_.

Pure, unadulterated fear was shining from the eyes of the girl and boy he had saved.

Dr. Andrews' heart sank into his shoes when he realized the twins weren't struggling against the hospital staff for sport; nor were they doing it for attention, or even to prove a point of any sort; the two of them were struggling because they didn't have any idea where they were. On occasion, Dr. Andrews would wake up and—for a split second—not know where he was; the feeling never ceased to frighten him, making his heart jump to his throat abruptly and unpleasantly. He imagined the twins were probably feeling the same way, but more profound since they really _didn't_ know where they were.

The blondes were in pain, in an unfamiliar setting, and surrounded by strangers.

That would terrify anyone.

"Persephone… Patrokalos..." Dr. Andrews said softly, trying to get their attention; the twins continued thrashing wildly in their individual hospital beds, ripping the sheets from the mattresses and battering the metal sidebars with their fists as moisture began condensing and swirled around their bodies. The noise in the room quickly grew from minor acrimony to sheer cacophony; the electrocardiograph machine which was monitoring their heart rates blared angrily as twi terrified screams filled the air. The grunts and moans of exhaustion from the team of four merely contributed to the discord.

"PERSEPHONE! PATROKALOS!" Dr. Andrews screamed loudly, gaining the attention of the two blondes and startling Rebecca, Will, and the two orderlies—who weren't accustomed to the normally mild-mannered doctor raising his voice. "Do either one of you know where you are?"

Percy shook his head from side to side.

"If you're working with Doctor Vladmir, get out of here!" Patrokalos squealed, whining in pain as he fought against the two people restraining him. "Don't hurt us!"

Dr. Andrews nodded gently: his suspicions about their behavior had been confirmed.

"I don't know a Doctor Vladmir, but I do know that you two are at the Jump City Medical Center," the man said softly. "You've both been in an accident... but if you promise to calm down, I'll have my team release you. If you can't, we will have to restrain you. Personally, I would rather not, so will you relax for me, please…?"

Both twins eyed him warily before they slowly relaxed and ceased struggling against Rebecca, Will, and the two orderlies: Persephone took a few deep breaths, but each breath she took burned... almost as though she'd accidentally breathed in a bunch of chili powder or something. Patrokalos winced and shivered: his left leg was being stabbed with a repeated searing pain, and his entire body ached in a dull, ubiquitous way; the twins were breathing, so they knew they were alive.

They were alive, even if all of the signs seemed to tell them otherwise.

"Doctor Andrews," Rebecca asserted, cutting through the momentary silence, "What do you want us to do?"

"Let them go: I want you all to release the twins and let me speak to them in private," Dr. Andrews replied without hesitation. Rebecca and Will looked at the man skeptically while the two orderlies looked at the good doctor with relief; they were simply happy that they wouldn't have to try to restrain Patrokalos anymore.

"Doc, are you sure?" Will asked inquisitively. "What if they try to get up again?"

"I'm positive they won't because of how much I trust them," Dr. Andrews said confidently. "Besides, if the twins really did want to hurt me, there wouldn't be much the four of you could do about it, anyway,"

In unison and with much trepidation, Rebecca, Will, and the two orderlies released the twins, who immediately settled back down into their individual beds and turned their heads toward the window with identical disconsolate expressions on their faces. Dr. Andrews motioned for Rebecca, Will, and the orderlies to leave the room before he quickly turned back around and faced the Harmony Twins—who lay still in their hospital beds. Their were still looking out of the fifth story window.

Because they were positioned on opposite sides of the room, they looked like mirror images.

"First things first, guys: how do you feel?" Dr. Andrews said softly.

Persephone and Patrokalos turned slightly and stared blankly at the doctor for a long moment with deadened blue eyes.

He felt unnerved when he noticed that the two of them looked almost identical aside from the gender difference. Percy and Patty, on the other hand, were having a difficult time making sense of all that had happened: they remembered the afternoon at the store with Cyborg, and they remembered the drive home... they remembered being shocked that the bridge was out, and the rush of adrenaline that had followed.

Percy closed her eyes tightly, straining to remember more…

Suddenly, she recalled it vividly—as though it was unfolding before her again... and the memory spread from her mind to her brother's through the link they shared: the twins could see Raven falling limply to the surface of the bridge. They could see Cinderblock swinging the truck wildly before releasing it. They could hear wind flying past their faces as they landed in front of the airborne vehicle and saw the shattering ice. They felt the sickening impact as the truck collided with their bodies…

Persephone's eyes snapped open and she panted heavily: each breath burned like brimstone in her lungs. Dr. Andrews became concerned when he realized the girl appeared to be in pain, and he was about to call for one of the nurses to bring in a sedative for her—but before he could, the girl's brother broke the silence.

"We feel… like we've been hit… by a truck," the boy wheezed, managing to shoot the doctor a faint smile before he coughed and struggled to catch his own breath. Dr. Andrews cracked a bright smile, causing laugh lines and crow's feet to appear: he chuckled mightily before taking a deep breath to regain his professional demeanor.

"So you remember the accident?" Dr. Andrews asked candidly, curiosity present in his tone.

Patty's smiled quickly faded and a haunted look crossed his shimmering blue eyes; his twin merely turned her head away and looked out the window.

"No… only bits and pieces," Patty whispered.

Dr. Andrews nodded slightly before he pulled up a chair next to the boy's bed and sat down, taking out a clipboard with multiple sheets of paper on it. The doctor continued by reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a pair of thin, black-rimmed reading glasses, and slipped them on his face.

"No worries," Dr. Andrews said, in an attempt to assuage the boy. "You and your sister sustained a serious concussion during the accident; that's why your mind is in a fog right now. With a concussion, all of your memories are there, but your mind—due to the injury—cannot logically make connections between them. It's a rather unpleasant side effect."

Patrokalos nodded as he listened to Dr. Andrews, but remained taciturn—assessing the situation for himself. The boy tilted his head forward and took note of the mass of gauze and bandages mummifying his chest and abdomen. He also noticed that his left leg was suspended in traction and set in a plaster cast; a dull throbbing darted through his knee with every heartbeat. Next, he tilted his head to the right and stared at the intravenous line in his right arm, then looked at the sensor for the electrocardiograph machine that was attached to his right index finger. Though he couldn't see his reflection, the blonde boy was certain that there were stitches just above his right eye. He tried to sit up and glance at his sister, but the doctor put a hand on his chest and shook his head.

_I'm not much better than you are,_ the girl muttered from across the room, soothing his worries.

Patty took a deep breath of the stale hospital air before gesturing for Dr. Andrews to continue.

"You and Persephone suffered some very serious injuries in the accident," Dr. Andrews said, staring at the boy's face. "The most serious of which was a punctured lung that both of you sustained. You guys almost slipped away on us, but my team and I were able to take care of the problem. That's why you and your sister are having difficulty breathing. Also, the debris which fell on top of you really sliced you up: there were several sizable punctures and gouges in your chest and abdomen. We cauterized the affected veins and arteries and stitched up your wounds. The bandages are in place to ward off infection. Lastly, you have a fractured left tibia, and your sister's arm was snapped in three places with two hair-line fractures. We set the bones, put them in a cast, and suspended your leg and her arm to make sure your body heals properly. The least serious of your injuries was a gash to your forehead, above your right eye. We stitched it shut."

Patty could feel his eyes watering; it was unlike him to feel sorry for himself, but at this moment—all alone in an unfamiliar place and surrounded by nothing but stale air and machinery—he couldn't help himself. His large hands shook uncontrollably as he dug his fingernails into his palms, attempting to abate his sorrow with pain.

"You're a fighter, Patrokalos," Dr. Andrews said ardently, hoping to lift the blonde boy's spirits. "Most people wouldn't have survived what you and your sister did. In my eyes, the worst of this is over; we can help you manage the pain while you recover."

In spite of the doctor's words, Patty felt worse: he looked around at the small, sterile white room, which grew smaller and blander with each passing moment.

His sister had been listening to the conversation from across the room and felt the same.

The incessant bleating of the electrocardiograph machine pierced through the stark atmosphere of the room and reverberated sharply and hollowly. Dr. Andrews, noticing that the twins were getting upset, walked over to a large cabinet mounted on the far wall of the room and opened it. He rustled around inside of the cabinet for a moment before pulling out a small, amber-colored bottle and a syringe. Percy's blue eyes grew wide when she saw the doctor approach her, syringe in hand.

The girl's heart began to race uncontrollably, as indicated by the rapid droning of the electrocardiograph machine.

"W-what's… that for?" Percy rasped nervously, voice trembling with uncertainty.

"It's just something to help you relax," Dr. Andrews replied gently; he stuck the hypodermic needle through the top of the bottle and lifted up on the piston, pulling a clear liquid into the syringe. Then he walked over to the girl's right side and administered the injection through the intravenous line in Percy's right arm before doing the same for her brother. Almost instantaneously, the twins' noticeable apprehension subsided—as did the roar of the heart monitor—and they drifted off to sleep.


	26. Chapter 25: Healing Process

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Healing Process**

Once more, Raven found herself on the roof of Titan's Tower, attempting to find solace.

The last time she had tried to meditate, her emotions had overwhelmed her and saturated her mind with tired clichés and cries for revenge.

The voices were quieter now, seemingly placated by her outburst on Cinder Block, but Raven beat herself up for losing control. She would have annihilated him if Beast Boy hadn't stopped her, and she knew it. Raven walked to the edge of the roof and looked out Jump City: the sun was shining, but the clouds usurped much of the benevolent light, casting shadows on the city. The days were getting longer and warmer as winter waned and spring settled in.

Raven sighed as she assumed the lotus position and lifted her hands with her palms facing the sky.

"Azarath, Metrion, Xinthos…" she chanted, closing her eyes.

"_You should have finished him off when you had the chance!_" Rage suddenly barked, chastising Raven for her hesitation. "_If you would have just dropped him in the river, Beast Boy never would have been able to stop us!_"

"Be quiet!" Raven commanded, trying desperately to pull back the reigns on her demonic side.

"_NO!_" Rage roared in defiance. "_You refused to do what's necessary!_"

"SILENCE!" Raven ordered frantically; even though she hated to admit it, Rage did make a valid point. Each time Cinderblock had broken out of jail, the Titans had tracked him down, defeated him, and put him back in prison. It was a vicious cycle, perpetuated by some ridiculous code of ethics.

"_He killed our Angels!_" Rage snarled, disdain dripping from every syllable. "_That miserable wretch snuffed out two lives like a candle without pause or regard—yet all you did was put him in jail! How pathetic! He killed the boy you love, Raven! He killed him, and his sister! Our sister! She was our baby sister!_"

Raven closed her eyes as tightly as she could, trying to shake Rage from the forefront of her mind. She gritted her teeth and concentrated as intently as she could, yet despite her best efforts, Rage remained.

"_You should have acted quickly and swiftly,_" Rage growled. "_You should have shown that waste of life the real meaning of pain—the true nature of suffering—and only ended his meaningless existence when it suited you. When his moans of agony no longer brought you comfort._"

"I would never stoop to that level." Raven snapped, agitated by her evil counterpart. "I'm not like you. It's never right to take a life."

"_You're a fool!_" Rage roared. _"You think that you are righteous, Raven; that somehow, you're on the high ground. You're wrong. How is it acceptable for our Angels to die and for Cinderblock to live? How many more people must you lose before you actually see the error of your ways?_"

Raven ripped herself away from her meditative state, falling roughly to the roof of the Tower a few feet below and landing on her knees.

She remained on the ground, but threw her arms around herself and slowly rocked back and forth: tears welled up in her eyes as she swayed too and fro, trying to calm herself down. She had lost control…and she had enjoyed it. She had enjoyed hurting Cinder Block to a degree that had frightened her, but the worst part was that she wasn't certain what would happen if she saw him again. After a few minutes, Raven managed to push Rage back to the corners of her mind and found some degree of peace.

As the girl sat there on the roof of Titan's Tower, it dawned on her that she had been handling this situation incorrectly. She'd thought that she'd needed to be alone in order to manage her grief and maintain balance within herself. Yet, every time she tried, she was eventually consumed by her disconsolate emotions. What she needed was someone to comfort her, someone to take her mind off of her troubles, someone to make her laugh…

She needed Patrokalos and Persephone.

Raven's eyes widened at the realization and she abruptly buried her face in her hands: she had never felt so alone.

**TXXXXXT**

Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg all sat on the large couch in the Common Room.

The trio stared blankly off into space, cogitating on all that had transpired.

Starfire sat motionlessly on one side of the couch, staring out the large bay window of the Common Room toward the Jump City Bridge, where everything had gone so terribly wrong only a few days prior. She'd revisited the battle with Cinderblock over and over again in her mind, each time wondering what she could have done differently. She worried about Robin, who was acting even more distant than usual and taking the Harmony Twins' death especially hard. Her thoughts then turned to Cyborg, who—in a fit of rage—had almost killed Cinderblock and withdrawn into silence.

However, her heart went out to Raven and Beast Boy in particular.

Starfire knew that the changeling and the empath had both harbored powerful feelings for the twins: losing a friend and a teammate was difficult enough, but to lose the one you loved would be truly devastating. Starfire cringed at the thought of losing Robin and somehow she knew that life would be hollow without him. The Tamaranian princess looked across the couch toward Beast Boy: he said nothing and continued to look down at the floor with discontent, stewing in guilt.

He never made any jokes or tried to lighten the mood anymore, which made the redhead want to cry.

"What troubles you, friend? You look most unhappy," Starfire stated emotionlessly. Beast Boy slowly glanced at Starfire, but the blank look on his face spoke volumes: he frowned after a mokment and shook his head, almost as though he didn't wish to discuss what was on his mind... but after letting out a deep sigh he began to share what he was thinking about.

"I wanted to kill him," Beast Boy said grimly, glaring at the ground as his lips twisted into a feral snarl. "I wanted to punch a hole right through his ugly head with my fist. I don't know why, but I hesitated when Raven was about to kill him; she had him, and I made her let him go when _I_ was the one who wanted to rip his head off—and the worst part is that I still _do._ He murdered the girl I love... and I'll never forgive him for it."

"I know what you mean, BB," Cyborg muttered, face darkening. "I was going to destroy him with my sonic cannon, but I missed."

"Yes… I, too, wanted to harm the Cinderblock," Starfire said softly, empathizing with the two boys. "That monster stole sister Percy and brother Patty from us… and he has broken our hearts in the process. In order to overcome the misfortune of losing our dearest friends, we must first accept what has happened to them. We cannot change the past; we can only look to the future."

Cyborg looked up at Starfire, who continued looking out of the bay window at the Jump City Bridge. He could see the pain in her eyes, though she was trying desperately to hide it; to choke it back with all of her might. After that, the two males sat silently for a moment.

"Persephone was so nice to me…" Beast Boy whispered brokenly, hanging his head as his pointed ears drooped. "She accepted me instantly, even though I'm a freak with green skin, and pointy ears, and fangs. On her first night in the tower, she hugged me without being afraid... she _hugged_ me. When most girls would have shied away or wrinkled their nose, she accepted me the way I am. She was a beautiful person... and not just on the outside, but inside her heart as well. She was beautiful, amazing, and so... so... I just can't believe she's gone! It doesn't feel real to me!"

"She and Patty shouldn't have died like that…" Cyborg choked out, voice barely above a whisper. "They were too innocent. It's not fair."

"Yes, but the Harmony Twins would not have wanted us to take the revenge," Starfire said, averting her gaze from the window and directing it at the two of them. "We must be strong: we must keep them alive in our hearts and our memories. No amount of bloodshed will revive them or satisfy you."

The princess then rose from her side of the couch and gave her troubled friends a hug before walking out of the Common Room.

Cyborg and Beast Boy both slumped in silence when the door hissed shut, still wallowing in despair and shame.

**TXXXXXT**

Robin paced once more, alone in his dark domicile.

He felt as though he was going to throw up; his stomach tied itself in knots and his heart pounded rampantly in his chest. So many things had transpired, and with each new development, life seemed to take yet another downward turn. Sleep was hard to come by. Every time Robin closed his eyes for a brief rest, he could see the identical looks of horror in Percy and Patty's sparkling blue eyes as he turned away from them... the look that told them they understood he was abandoning them to die alone on a cold bridge. The memory was burned in his mind, but if _that_ wasn't bad enough, he'd frozen like a deer in the headlights at a crucial point in battle.

He had been unable to think clearly, or even move.

At that moment in time, he'd barely been able to breathe; even now, his heart continued to pound angrily in his chest.

He flopped down on the edge of his bed and buried his head into his hands, breathing deeply a few times in a vain effort to calm his frazzled nerves.

How would he be able to lead the team if he couldn't think straight or fight? Moreover, Slade's return had come at the worst possible time.

Slade—who was a handful in the best of times—would surely sense his weakness and try to exploit it; worse still, he knew about what really happened on the bridge that night. Though Slade said that he would not tell the other Titans of the treachery that took place that fateful evening, Robin knew that he could not be trusted. Robin's calculating mind went to work, frantically searching for a solution to his problems. He couldn't bear lying to the other Titans, but feared being ostracized if they discovered the truth. He could not stand feeling helpless in battle, but did not know exactly what had afflicted him—what had paralyzed him—in the last battle.

Lastly, he couldn't trust Slade, but he was at the madman's mercy.

"I can't win… no matter what I do, I just can't win," Robin said despairingly. "If I lie to my friends, I'm no better than the criminals we fight, but if I tell them what I did—that abandoned the Harmony Twins—they'll never forgive me."

His stomach cramped up painfully as he choked back the emotions that were tearing at his insides; he felt as though acid was coursing through his veins. His eyes welled up with tears as he sat on his bed in the darkness, feeling helpless and alone; isolated from his friends, and subordinated by his greatest enemy.

**TXXXXXT**

It was early morning and the sun just began to peer over the horizon.

The sky was a kaleidoscope of color; hues of pink, yellow, and green merrily intertwined, dancing between sparse, attenuated clouds. The days had been growing noticeably shorter and colder, and while many of the autumn afternoons had been pleasant and temperate, the Titans were not in the state of mind to enjoy them. Inside Titan's Tower, sadness hung palpably in the air like a thick, cold fog. The atmosphere, which used to be warm and ebullient, was now replaced with outright lugubriousness, chilling even the most sanguine of hearts. Raven sat at the kitchen counter in the Common Room, gazing apathetically at the sunrise as she prepared some green tea.

No matter how the vestal sun smiled, nor how the sky burned in its purview, Raven remained unmoved.

Such a wondrous display of nature would normally have captivated her; however it seemed quite petty now.

She had lost the boy who loved her unconditionally and the girl who considered her to be family: her emotions, which ran the spectrum of sorrow to anger and remorse to stoicism, threatened to suffocate her from within. Sure, the twins could have been annoying; they could have been immature and naive at times, as well, but this was only half of the story. The Harmony Twins were infinitely kind and gentle when the world was anything but.

Patrokalos was caring and unquestionably loyal, and he was the kind of person who would stand by your side when you felt utterly alone. When the others had given him a hard time, he'd simply laughed right along with them—with a knowing grin on that handsome face that spoke volumes in its reticence. Persephone was loving and undeniably the sweetest person Raven had ever met: the girl cared about others to the point of her own harm.

Raven poured her tea into a mug, and gave it a stir, watching the steam from the hot liquid rise to the ceiling; she brought the tea to her lips pensively, and drew in a long sip, savoring its sweetness as the memory of why she'd changed her preference came flooding back to her mind. The steam from her mug brought tinges of red to her pallid cheeks as she sat, silently reflecting on her inner turmoil.

The twins hadn't been just friends, or even teammates… without her even realizing it, the twins had become so much more—in the same way that the ever-annoying Beast Boy had. Whenever she had been crestfallen, the two of them had always been there to cheer her and gone out of their way to make her feel like she belonged. When she was convinced that she was evil, Persephone and Patrokalos had stayed by her side.

In many ways, the two angels had believed in her more than she believed in herself.

They were her pillars: if she'd needed someone to make her laugh or a shoulder to cry on, Percy and Patty were never too far away. The two of them had even subjected themselves to her incessant barbs and scrutiny—gladly taking the abuse if it brought her comfort. Although she had been blithely unaware of it, the Harmony Twins had carved a niche in the walls surrounding her heart and had made their way to her soul.

Without them, life seemed hollow.

Raven sighed heavily as she finished her tea, setting the mug down on the counter. She continued to look out of the large bay window in the Common Room, staring blankly at the sun as it continued its ascent into the morning sky. She set her elbows on the counter and propped her head up with her hands as she allowed her mind to wander: she could feel her eyes well up as she continued staring out the window, lost in thought.

"How could I have been so cruel to them?" Raven wondered aloud, voice coming out as a soft rasp. "Persephone and Patrokalos always went out of their way to be nice to me… to make me smile… and I treated them like dirt by letting them get injured. If only I could tell them how sorry I am… if only I could tell Patty I loved him one more time... I..."

She began to choke up, softly sobbing as she closed her eyes tightly, in a vain effort to hold back her tears.

Her breaths were punctuated with soft—almost stifled—whimpers.

"That must be quite a sunrise," a deep, soothing voice spoke from behind her as she sat in lucidity; Raven quickly lifted the hood of her cloak to hide her tears before turning around to see Cyborg standing in the doorway of the Common Room. She'd been so completely consumed by her own ruminations that she hadn't even heard the hiss of the door announce his presence. He stood motionlessly for a moment, looking ragged and weary, broad shoulders slumping forward as though he bore a great burden.

"I was just thinking," Raven said softly as she quickly turned away from Cyborg and averted her gaze to the counter, ensuring that he wouldn't see her tears before astutely redirecting the conversation. "You look exhausted."

"I can shut down my systems," Cyborg said matter-of-factly, "but when it comes down to it, my brain still calls the shots. I just can't stop thinking about everything… I've replayed the battle in my head so many times. Each time, I wonder what I did wrong… what I could have done differently…"

Raven said nothing in reply, preferring to take on the role of sympathetic listener.

"I mean… look at me!" Cyborg exclaimed vivaciously, raising his left hand to the mechanical side of his face. "I should be dead, raven! I never should have survived the car accident when I was a kid, but here I am! I've been torn apart piece by piece, and yet—somehow—I pulled through! It's not fair, Raven... why should I live through so many accidents and close calls? Of all people, why did the twins have to…?"

He couldn't bring himself to say the word, though it was on his lips.

He looked up to see Raven staring directly at him, her tears shimmering in the abundant morning light that poured in through the window. Silence descended upon the room even though both wanted to say something to make the other feel better. Words, however, were not enough. Most people try to placate a wounded heart with a cliché, yet words—though powerful—could also be hollow. Though a few kind words could help one see logic or a specific point of view, they could not make sense of the illogical or give meaning to the irrational.

Wounded hearts, after all, require time to mend.

No amount of hackneyed metaphors or pithy phrases would expedite the process; such foolishness would be like putting a band-aid on a broken bone. Silence prevailed as they sat, staring out the window, letting their thoughts run rampant. Both Cyborg and Raven opened their mouths and drew in a breath as if to speak, but simply sighed instead. They remained taciturn for what seemed like an eternity.

The door to the Common Room suddenly swung open with a hiss as Starfire and Beast Boy entered. The two of them looked reasonably upbeat, though Beast Boy's green eyes were hollow and Starfire lacked the usual bounce in her step. The two of them looked well-rested, but they wore subdued countenances and did not—or could not—smile. Their normally perky personalities were being squelched by their sorrow—and even though the two of them put on brave faces and mourned privately, it was clear that they weren't themselves.

"Mornin' guys," Beast Boy intoned expressionlessly, pointed ears twitching slightly.

"Good morning, friends! How are you on this most glorious of mornings?" Starfire exclaimed, feigning her usual enthusiasm. Raven and Cyborg looked at them sheepishly, not having the gumption to tell the princess how they really felt, for fear of hurting the well-intentioned Tamaranian.

"Okay, I guess…" Cyborg replied evenly, resting his head on his left hand as he sat at the kitchen counter. Raven didn't reply; she simply got up and walked to the stove to make herself another cup of herbal tea. She took the kettle off of the stove, filled it with water, and clicked the burner to high. Starfire approached Raven from behind and gently placed her hand on Raven's shoulder, hoping to soothe the troubled Empath.

"Raven, you do not have to bear this pain alone, I know how you must feel—" Starfire said sweetly.

"I don't want to talk about how I feel!" Raven snapped through her gritted teeth, recoiling sharply and startling Starfire—who took a step back, mouth agape. "You walk around as though nothing happened! Patrokalos is dead and you just want us to move on?! Like hell I'll move on! Patty and Percy were my world! I allowed them to get close to me, and they were taken away! I'm suffering because I allowed myself to care, and I still care even after they're gone... so there's no way in Azarath _or_ the seven levels of hell that I will ever let them go. Ever. I will gladly suffer alone for the rest of this godforsaken eternity if their memory is the only thing I can hold close to my heart now."

Raven's voice trailed off, interrupted by the ear-shattering whistle of the kettle on the stove.

The empath turned off the burner and poured the water in her mug before dropping a teabag in the water and allowing it to steep. When she turned around, Starfire looked anguished and on the verge of tears. Cyborg quickly got up and hugged the girl who, in turn, threw her arms around him; she held onto the large mechanical man for a several moments, squeezing him tightly before releasing him from her grasp and attempting to dry her streaming eyes with her wrists. Beast boy glared at the ground with a scowl as tears filled his own eyes.

"I… miss… the twins… very much…! I don't know what to think! One moment I am feeling well… and the next… I feel as though… I am trapped inside of a bad dream," Starfire whined between discordant sobs; hush swept over the room once again. Only the sound of Raven setting her mug on the counter cut through the silence. "I only wish… we had the chance to say… goodbye to the Harmony Twins. I wish we could tell them we loved them."

Starfire's words seemed to resound throughout the Common Room, and they really struck a chord with Cyborg: his grief and guilt had been so absolute that he only thought about what could have been, not what was to come. He remained motionless for a moment, mulling over Starfire's words.

"There still is a way for us to say goodbye, Star…" Cyborg said, with a hint of optimism in his tone.

Starfire's eyes immediately brightened and she smiled genuinely before frowning in puzzlement.

"But… how?" she asked.

"I'm gonna talk it over with Robin, but I think there is a way for us to pay our respects to her," Cyborg stated, quickly turning away and walking out of the kitchen toward their leader's room. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven remained, sitting in morbid, grieved silence.

**TXXXXXT**

Robin lay on his bed, staring emptily at the ceiling: he refused to open the curtains, preferring to lie in the thick, pooling darkness compared to the radiant light of the sun outside of his window. He splayed out, stretching his arms and legs wide across the bed. He hadn't been able to muster the will to move, preferring to remain as still as possible, letting his mind wander where it may. He breathed in deeply, his chest expanding as he inhaled. He held the breath inside until it hurt; until he could feel his heartbeat pounding rhythmically.

He held the breath inside until he could not bear it any longer; until his temples pounded and his chest burned. It was as though he was trying to suffocate a part of himself. He panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath, the sound of his huffing and puffing filling the emptiness of the room. A knock at the door startled Robin, who scurried to his feet. He walked over to the wall and flipped on the lights in his room before opening the door.

Cyborg stood in the doorway with a serious look on his face; clearly, something pressing was underway.

"Cyborg, what's the matter?" Robin asked, seemingly surprised his teammate standing in the doorway.

Cyborg stood quietly for a moment, trying to formulate an articulate response; he glanced down at the floor and nervously poked his mechanical foot into the rug. Under normal circumstances, Robin was very easy to talk to... but lately he had been acting strangely: Percy and Patty's death had been particularly hard on Robin, and Cyborg couldn't put his finger on it, but—for whatever reason—Robin had been more distant and guarded than usual.

"Robin, I wanna talk to you about something. Can I come in?" Cyborg said frankly, rubbing the back of his neck; Robin motioned for him to enter before turning around and sitting on the edge of his bed. Cyborg walked in, and stood just inside the doorway. "I'm sure you've noticed that everyone has been down in the dumps since… the accident, but I was just talking with B.B., Raven, and Star, and we all figured out that one of the things that bothers us the most about what happened is the fact that we never got the chance to say goodbye to either one of the twins."

Robin could feel a lump forming in his throat. His stomach immediately began doing somersaults and tying itself in knots. He began to realize where Cyborg was going with this, and he was petrified: sweat began to form at his brow as his heart began to race and flutter.

"Okay… so, what exactly are you saying?" Robin asked, playing dumb.

"I think that we should… pay our respects to the twins," Cyborg replied, folding his arms across his chest. "It's been a week now, Robin: everyone is still upset, and I think that we all could use some closure."

Robin's heart sank into his shoes.

He'd never devised a plan for this seemingly inevitable course of events. His friends wanted him to have a funeral service for Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius, and he didn't have bodies to offer them. His mind raced and his palms perspired, becoming clammy and moist. Each time he lied to his friends, it felt as though a small part of him died. He dreaded the thought of having to deceive them, but quickly realized that coming clean was simply not an option.

He'd passed the point of no return.

"I think it is a great idea, Cyborg," Robin replied with a slight grin on his face. "A memorial service would be a fitting way for us to pay tribute to the Harmony Twins. I can't believe I didn't think of it."

"I don't know how much time you are going to need to… you know…" Cyborg rubbed his large, robotic hands together nervously as his eyes darted around the room: talking about death made him uncomfortable. "I don't know how much time you'll need to… make… arrangements…"

Robin shook his head and sighed deeply: this wasn't going to be easy.  
It was one thing to simply cover your tracks; it was another altogether to fabricate an entire story predicated on lies.

"Here's the thing, Cy…" Robin said softly, the lump in his throat growing evermore noticeable, "There are no bodies."

"No bodies?" Cyborg uttered almost inaudibly. "How…?"

"That night… on the bridge…" Robin began, speaking stoically as he looked at Cyborg—who was noticeably shocked and upset. "I stayed with the twins until they died. When the Coroners came, I had to make a decision on the spot; I either had to send their bodies for embalming so they could be buried, or have them cremated. I had to think fast, Cy…"

"What? Why did you do that?" Cyborg interjected, muscles tensing up as his breathing became heavier. He turned and rubbed his eyes with his fingertips; he couldn't bear to look at Robin right now. How could he have made such a flippant decision on the spot like that? There was certainly nothing wrong with cremation, but it would have at least been nice to have been involved in the decision-making process.

"You have to understand! I did what I did for the twins!" Robin shouted in an authoritarian tone; Cyborg swung back around, feeling his blood begin to boil. He was clearly seeing red, and couldn't bear how nonchalant Robin was about the entire situation.

Cyborg walked directly up to Robin and leaned into his face.

"How was that decision made for the Twins?" Cyborg snarled gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in anger. "How about you explain your decision to me, because I don't understand your rationale: Percy was Beast Boy's girlfriend and Patty was Raven's boyfriend. They had more say than you."

"Listen, Cyborg," Robin yelled back, refusing to back down, "The twins were my friends, too! I had to do what I thought was best for them because they were _unique!_ They were _special!_ The twins and Terra are the only three people in the world whose DNA is that of a god's, not a human's! The twins could control the elements and could summon a pair of wings on the spot! Now, we could have had a traditional burial for them, but someone out to make a few quick bucks could have robbed their graves for their DNA! Do you know how much the blood of a god would be worth on the black market, Cyborg?! Do you know how much people would pay to have an army of dark angels at their command?! You have to ask yourself: are your feelings worth more than the sanctity of the twins' memory? It wasn't an ideal situation, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances!"

Cyborg nodded blankly, still upset, but aware of the logic behind the decision Robin had made. Somehow, though, with no body present, the memorial service would seem surreal. One thing was for sure, closure would be hard to come by.

"I understand, Robin," Cyborg said blankly. "How do you want to approach this service then?"

"How about tonight?" Robin replied sagaciously. "We'll invite Terra and do it together at sunset. We'll all stand together, and everyone will have an opportunity to say a few words about the twins. While it would be—in my opinion—more fitting to have a public service, I would prefer to keep this as intimate as possible. I don't want Jump City to know just yet, and I certainly don't want the criminals of the world to know we're two members short."

Cyborg nodded morosely and sighed deeply, closing his eyes in frustration. His plan to bring everyone together in honor of the twins quickly went south, and now it barely resembled the grand devotional service he had imagined.

"I'll tell the others…" Cyborg said softly. He quickly turned back around and walked out of Robin's room, heading back toward the Common Room.

Robin flicked off the lights, flopped back down on his bed and took a deep breath once more, holding it until his lungs felt as though they would burst. He had managed—through casuistry—to once again deceive his friends and throw them off track. He was safe…for the moment. He closed his eyes tightly, until it hurt. He hoped that the darkness which enveloped him would bring some sense of comfort to his troubled mind.

As he lay looking at the ceiling in the dark, he couldn't help but wonder how things went so very wrong, so very fast.

"Sooner or later," Robin said to himself. "Sooner or later, they'll find out that I've been pulling the wool over their eyes. It isn't a matter of 'if' as it is of 'when.'"


	27. Chapter 26: Memorial Service

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Memorial Service**

Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and Terra stood somberly on the roof of Titan's Tower—all of them watching the sun slowly fade in the west. It seemed to be smiling as it descended and gave way to dusk, and a chilly breeze blew in gently from the east—nipping bitterly at the five heroes as they stood together in silence. The blonde girl looked utterly shocked and her eyes seemed blank, but on top of that she was extremely _angry._

"I don't believe Robin would do that without even contacting me! My brother and sister have been dead for a _week,_ and I only just found out about it today!" Terra shrieked, but her angry expression soon began breaking into pieces and tears filled her eyes; she whimpered softly before she wrapped her arms around herself and sniffed, blonde hair swept off to the side by the breeze. The Titans watched as she walked over to the edge of the tower and stared off at the sunset, shoulders shaking. "Everyone in my family is dead now... I'm alone. I'm completely alone..."

Cyborg sighed; normally it wasn't his policy to speak badly about his teammates, but he'd felt that Terra had deserved to know what Robin had done.

"I do not believe Robin would do such a terrible thing, either," Starfire sniffled, looking up at the bionic teenager.

"I know it's not easy to understand, Star," Cyborg said softly, trying to soothe his dismayed friends, "but Robin did what he thought was best. In a way, I can actually understand his decision… but he should have run it by us first."

"What Robin did does make sense," Raven rasped almost inaudibly, hood darkening her features. "When you consider how unique the twins were and how many people in the world would have liked to harness their power, cremation seems logical."

The girl trailed off when Starfire and Cyborg gazed at her; Beast Boy didn't even look up, and Terra merely continued staring off at the sunset.

"What are you saying?" Beast Boy asked in a low voice.

"I'm not condoning what he did," Raven stated flatly, looking out at the ocean with empty violet eyes. "It was self-centered, egotistical, and underhanded. It would have been nice to say goodbye to the twins face-to-face, but we can't undo what has been done…"

Cyborg nodded in agreement and placed his hand on Starfire's shoulder in an effort to lift her spirits. The Titans stood together, sharing each others pain as they watched the sun slip further below the horizon line. Suddenly, the door to the roof swung open, revealing Robin. Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, Terra, and Starfire all turned around in unison to face their leader—who approached them slowly, almost hesitantly. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days; his normally confident strut had been reduced to a reluctant trudge. His arms dangled at his sides, as though he didn't possess the strength to lift them, and his uniform was uncharacteristically untidy. Normally, it was crisp and clean, but now it was wrinkled and worn as though he'd been wearing it for a few days. Even his hair, which was normally a picture of "controlled chaos" simply looked disheveled.

"Are you… okay, man?" Cyborg asked, concern forthright in his tone. Starfire, who hadn't seen her reclusive beau in several days, was taken aback by his uncharacteristically disheveled appearance. Even Raven wore an awestruck expression.

Robin nodded gently, attempting—in vain—to reassure his friends.

"I'm… fine, you guys," Robin lied through his teeth, shooting his friends a sly grin in an effort to pull the wool over their eyes. "I just haven't been sleeping very well. I've been… thinking about everything. Every time I try to get some rest, I wonder what I could have done differently. I wonder how things could have played out if I had acted differently."

"You can't blame yourself, man," Cyborg replied, steadfast in his conviction. "What happened was an accident. There's nothing that you could have done to change how things played out. We've all spent the last week wondering what we could have done, but… there was nothing we could do."

"I agree," Starfire said quietly, walking to Robin's side and throwing her arm around his shoulders. "We are accustomed to saving everyone who is in trouble, but to be unable to save our own two friends does seem most cruel and unkind."

Silence fell over the four heroes as they stared out at the sunset as it began to recede in the west. The dying light twinkled optimistically off of the choppy water below, as the cool easterly breeze chilled the air. Robin stepped away from his friends and walked to the edge of the roof before a quick volte-face put him directly in their line of sight.

"I would like to begin," Robin said stoically. "A week ago, we lost two people who were very close to us. We lost our friends and comrades; people who had devoted their life to protecting those without the means to protect themselves. The Twins were more than just Titans: they were infinitely kind and caring—a boy and girl who would have gladly given you the shirt off of his or her back if you'd asked for it. Their sense of humor—even in the worst of times—allowed the rest of us to see the light. Percy kept us from taking ourselves too seriously, and Patty was always quick with a silly joke to lighten the mood. Yet, they were more than that… the twins were the kind of people you wanted at your side in battle. Loyal, passionate, and determined—they were as fierce in a fight as they were in friendship… and although they're gone, they left an impact on me."

"I remember when Beast Boy made Percy pull a joke on Cyborg," Starfire said, tears streaming down her face as she smiled—obviously remembering better times. "The joke backfired and I ended up getting covered in motor oil again! It was most unpleasant, and I was so angry with my female friend for acting so heartlessly that I called her a '_Chlorbag barblernilk_.' Patrokalos and Percy apologized right away because they couldn't stand to see others in pain: they would practically move the stars to make things right if someone was hurting or upset. The twins would stand by your side and offer their assistance, even when no one else was willing to. I am going to miss their jokes and their happy songs and Percy's bath time with me. Even when I was most depressed, the twins always found a way to make me feel like myself once more. I am going to miss them dearly."

Starfire walked back in line with the others as the sun recessed completely; the moon and stars now glinted brightly overhead. As the wind picked up a little more, Raven walked toward the edge of the roof, her cloak flapping in the breeze, and the sound of the waves gently crashing against the rocks below casting a hush over all, prepared to speak about the twins. She lowered the hood of her cloak, allowing the others to see her weary face.

"I'm not the best at explaining how I feel…" Raven said monotonously, shoulder-length black hair blowing carelessly in the breeze. "I've spent years learning to control my emotions so I could master my powers. I focused a great deal of my time and energy into clearing my mind of my feelings and using a level head as my greatest weapon in battle. but I guess that's why Percy, Patty, and Beast Boy annoyed me so much when I first met them all. Percy and Patty were both so ebullient—so exuberant—that I couldn't concentrate with them around. Patty was like another Beast Boy, and for the longest of times I found him annoying and immature. Yet, the more I got to know him, the more I understood him: he always tried to make me laugh, and even though his attempts could be lame, he still put forth the effort. Percy and Patty went out of their way to make me feel as though I belonged, and—along with the rest of you—they stood by me. Whenever I gave Persephone a hard time or poked fun at her, she would just take it: she would take all forms of abuse if she knew it made you feel better. She could laugh at herself, and she never took herself too seriously…"

Raven paused yet again as a few tears ran down her cheeks and dripped off of her chin.

"Though I didn't trust either one of them at first," Raven continued somberly, "the twins never gave up on me. Eventually, Percy helped me see beauty in the world that I 'd never noticed before. She helped me understand things, even when I was too full of my own sophistry and pride to listen. I wish I could tell her all of this face-to-face; I wish that I had been brave enough to have told her just how much everything she did for me meant. I wish that I could tell her that she was the one who helped me... that she gave me the courage to tell Patrokalos that I loved him, because I _did..."_

_I still do, _she added silently.

"Percy and Patty were like siblings to me," Cyborg stated hollowly, blinking his eye as he stared at the setting sun. "They were the only ones who understood what it felt like to be so... different. To be treated like some sort of freak. Before I met them, I used to pity myself: I was an athlete, and I thought that I had my entire future ahead of me. Then I got into a car accident and everything changed for me. I was angry at the world; I felt cheated... but they gave me the courage to lighten up on myself and saved me from my memories: for that, I'll always be thankful."

"It is easy for people to think of the twins as the children of the Titans, but they clearly didn't know them as well as we did," Beast Boy finally said, voice trembling with emotion as he looked at his teammates. "Persephone D'Andesyrius... was my best friend. She was the one person who understood exactly what it meant to be outwardly different and to be singled out because of it. Percy and Patty... I loved them both."

The other Titans turned to Terra, but they bowed their heads in respect when they saw the girl was shaking violently.

"An accident changed all of our lives," Terra whispered, turning around with streaming pale blue eyes; her long blonde hair was swept off to the side in glossy tendrils by the breeze, and her tanned skin... so different from Percy's ivory tone... looked exotic. "I was terrible to them. My brother and sister had such an amazing outlook on life that I _envied_ their optimism. The twins were able to approach life with such carefree and lighthearted attitudes that I was jealous. It annoyed me, and I hated them... but over time—as I got to know my family better and watched them grow up—I understood something crucial about them: they were the most hopeful people I've ever known. The twins didn't feel cheated by life; they believed they were lucky to be alive at all and that each day was a gift. Until that point, I had been angry at the world; my own brother and sister opened my eyes to the fact that my life was whatever I was willing to make of it. They were the ones who saved me... in more ways than one. I love them."

The night would end, and the sun would rise the following morning; that much was certain.

However, the Titans were more concerned with what that morning would bring.

It would do little to change what had happened; they would still be short two teammates.

Yet they hoped that the following morning would mark a new beginning. The Harmony Twins were gone, and though they could never be replaced, mourning them was not an option. What the Titans were seeking was closure, and while it was going to take a considerable amount of time to mend their emotional wounds, they hoped that by paying their respects to the tins, they would be able to find meaning even in the darkest of tragedies.

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone slowly opened her sparkling blue eyes, allowing them to adjust to the intense light pouring through her window. As she yawned, she stretched her arms above her head... only to feel the familiar searing pain shoot through her abdomen and chest. She retracted sharply and mewled in agony as she folded her small hands over her wounds. She had grown accustomed to pain over the years, but this was much worse than anything she had experienced before. Her arm still throbbed, and the stitches above her left eye burned and itched feverishly. The only noticeable improvement was that she didn't feel as though she was in a fog; the side effects of her concussion were slowly disappearing.

Patrokalos was sleeping at the moment, but she knew that he wasn't doing much better.

Percy looked out of her window, but judging by the position of the sun in the sky, she figured that it was about mid-afternoon. For a moment, the small blonde girl couldn't even believe she'd slept for so long; whatever the doctor had given to her the previous day had really done the trick. She sighed heavily; she would have been much happier if the sleep had actually been restful. Every time she drifted off to sleep, the Dark Angel had emerged—tormenting her at every turn. Ever since she'd made the deal with the evil side of her soul, sleep had been extremely hard to come by.

Percy knew exactly what her darker half was trying to do to her and her brother, and it troubled the girl immensely.

While she had always been able to keep the evil bottled up in the darkest recesses of her mind, everything had changed the moment that she'd agreed to give the Angel of Wrath more free reign. Her Dark Side had always longed to be free; she wanted to run the show, not merely share the stage with the twins. The demon's strategy was simple; weaken the twins enough to take over. She figured that by tormenting the two blondes in their sleep, she would either weaken their minds subconsciously or manage to fatigue them through sleep deprivation. Both were well-planned strategies—and though Percy hated to admit it, they were working. She needed her rest to aid her in her recovery, but she was afraid to sleep.

Patty abruptly opened his eyes and sat up before letting out a sound of discontentment, just like she had.

"The Dark Angel again?" Percy asked in a soft voice.

"Yup," her brother muttered, nodding before he patted his chest with a wince.

"My brain isn't working properly... memories seem to pop in at random," Percy muttered, bringing her hands to her face and rubbing her bloodshot eyes before she began to wrack her brain, trying desperately to put all of the pieces together. She remembered the accident itself and had recalled how she and her brother had collided with the truck—but new memories were flashing before her now. She could see faces, terrified faces—she could feel the panic and fear emanating from them. Then everything went black… then white.

The next thing she could recall was Cyborg standing over her, trying to dig them out.

Percy closed her eyes tightly, practically straining herself to remember more: st was like having a word on the tip of your tongue; she was so close to remembering what had happened that it hurt. She focused harder and covered her face with both hands, hoping to uncover more.

She could see Robin, standing over her... the moon and stars were burning brightly overhead as Robin looked down on her and her brother with a look of concern and worry. Her leader stood silently over them for a few moments before turning away. The last thing she could remember—perhaps the one thing she could never forget—were the words she and her brother had spoken and Robin's response, which seemed to echo in the pooling darkness.

_"Robin, please…"_

_"Help us..."_

_"Sorry, Harmony Twins. I wish there was some other way…"_

Persephone's electric blue eyes snapped open wide, and she felt her brother's emotions surge as the memory stretched across their link: the electrocardiograph machines—which had both been steadily and rhythmically beeping—began to race feverishly until it was blaring so quickly that it sounded almost like a flat-line. Percy and Patty could feel the anger welling up inside of them as their faces simultaneously contorted in rage; it was as though their blood was ablaze with power. As Percy's anger boiled over, she began to growl like a kitten in anger and Patty snarled like a wild dog: these growls soon grew into two ear-splitting shrieks that shattered the windows in their room—and the breaking glass could be heard throughout the Intensive Care Unit. Percy and Patty both grabbed hold of the steel side bars on their individual hospital beds and gripped them with all of their might: to the surprise of both twins, the steel began to succumb to their strength and bent under their fingers like soft sticks of putty.

"_Let me out, children…_" the demon whispered from the depths of their minds. "_You know you want to…_"

"What we want doesn't matter," the twins spat at the same time, hands trembling involuntarily as they both took a few deep breaths. Neither one of them wanted to lose control in the Hospital and risk hurting innocent people. A short, blonde nurse suddenly ran into the room with a look of fright on her face, taking in the shattered windows before she approached Percy's bedside.

"Oh my gosh! Are you guys okay?! Are you in pain?!" she exclaimed, noticing the twisted sidebars with a jolt.

Percy gritted her teeth and tried her best to put on a tough front: she choked back her pain the best she could as the demon continued to whisper to her. She knew that she couldn't let her anger overwhelm her… not here… not now.

"We're… fine. We just had a really bad nightmare… it happens to us once and a while," Persephone replied with one of her innocently disarming smiles, trying her best to sound well-adjusted and reasonably content. The nurse looked at the blonde girl in concern; she could tell that Percy wasn't being completely honest with her, but didn't want to cajole her into speaking. Her brother was eying the nurse with a similar expression on his face.

"You have to let me know when you _are_ in pain, okay?" she said sternly, trying to put the twins at ease. "If you need anything, just give me a shout… I'm never too far away. My name is Rebecca."

"Thanks… um, it's nice to meet you," Percy replied, blinking her large eyes. "Sorry if I scared you… I'm just… confused, I guess."

Rebecca looked down at the blonde girl with pensive brown eyes: she wanted to ask the girl what was troubling her, but for the time being she decided to let it go. If she really wanted to talk to someone about it, she would open up eventually.

"Nice to meet you, too, guys," Rebecca said with a grin. "If there's _anything_ that you need, be sure to call: Dr. Andrews has me on especially for you."

The twins nodded and smiled at her until she walked out of the room, but their smiles dropped off the moment she was gone.

"How could Robin… just… leave us there?" Percy whispered, closing her eyes once more as she continued to tremble in pain.

"I... never thought he could do that to us," Patty hissed, glaring at the ceiling as tears trickled out of his eyes. "I thought he was different."

Blood still boiling, the two blondes suddenly felt as though the room were spinning: their bodies throbbed in emotional pain as the realization of Robin's betrayal fully began to sink in. Several hours passed as the twins lay in their beds, and soon the cool draft was filtering into the room from the vents to gently nip at their skin. Twilight was soon descending, and the astral sky was ablaze in nocturnal splendor. The waning moon burned effervescently in the sky; its pallid glow bathing the Earth in radiance.

The moonlight poured into their room, casting serpentine shadows on the walls and floor.

Though the night was still and silence prevailed over all else, neither one of the twins could find solace; their exhausted bodies couldn't convince her mind to rest. Percy remained motionless, feeling as though she and the bed had fused symbiotically; it had been so long since she 'd stirred that she couldn't remember where she ended and the sheets began. Her exhausted blue eyes darted around the room, taking in every detail of the small, sterile domicile.

The walls, which were painted in a clean, bright white, looked to be charcoal grey in pooling darkness: the white linoleum floor was pristine, for it had been recently waxed; the glow of the moonlight reflected off of it intensely, revealing the smooth, glossy finish. The cabinet in the corner of the room, which contained various sorts of medical supplies, stood silently in the darkness. Percy brought her hands to her face slowly and rubbed her tired eyes with her fingers in a light, circular motion. Then she took a deep breath and held it, allowing the searing pain to once again make its presence known before slowly releasing it.

"Patty?" she called softly.

"Hn?" her brother asked in a dull tone.

"Why are humans so terrible?" Percy asked bluntly, feeling extremely confused by everything. "Why do they do so many terrible things to each other?"

"I don't know," the boy stated tiredly. "I really don't. I've been asking myself that same question for most of my life."

After that, there really wasn't much she could say. The electrocardiograph machine sounded ever so softly every couple of seconds, marking each heartbeat dutifully. Similarly, Percy's arm throbbed in unison with the electrocardiograph machine; though it was healing, it was still in traction and wracked with dull, throbbing pains. The same went for her brother's leg... although, she was kind of intrigued to realize that her brother's heart beat was the same as her own. It had amazed the doctors, too.

Percy folded her hands over the button-up nightshirt that Dr. Andrews had given her and sighed heavily, wincing and gritting her teeth in pain before opening her sparkling blue eyes once more. Entreated by the blithe moonlight cascading through his window, Persephone stole a glance at the moon and allowed her mind to drift away. She didn't think of any one thing in particular, but a multitude of things.

She thought of that night and the decision she and her brother had made. She couldn't recall exactly what had gone through her mind the moment before she'd decided to step into the path of the airborne semi-truck; she had acted almost instinctively, like a reflex or conditioned response. She and her brother were strong… they could take it… they would be alright, but there were people… innocent people, who'd needed her help, and the two of them were willing to sacrifice everything for them. In a way, even though the twins were alive, they had already made the ultimate sacrifice: in an instant, everything they'd come to know had been torn asunder.

The twins had believed they were heroes, two people who people held in high regard.

They'd believed that—even when things were at their worst—people would rally behind them and support them from the sidelines. Yet here they lay: alone in a dark, stale, hospital room with only spectral shadows for comfort. Persephone and Patrokalos had thought her friends had cared about her… had _loved_ her. They were the family they'd never had, yet when the twins had needed them the most... they, too, were nowhere in sight and seemingly phlegmatic. The iniquity of the world was no secret to the two blondes; they had tasted enough betrayal to know that they would most likely never have anyone but each other, especially after this latest development.

Normally, the twins would refuse to acknowledge such a selfish emotion, regardless of how it permeated their minds.

However, feeling more alone than ever before, the pangs of pity became evermore difficult to ignore and increasingly evident in her mind. The stars burned brightly, contrasting distinctly against the obsidian sky. Though the view from their newly-repaired window—in all of its transient glory—should have lifted their spirits, the twins could only think of how much they'd lost.

Percy thought back to her parents.

Any semblance of normalcy or constancy in her life disappeared under the cave of twisted metal along with them. She and her brother had been exploited thereafter; their lives and conscience threatened by men who sought only to help themselves. Persephone could feel tears welling in her big blue eyes as she stared at the skyline: in the past, a stable home environment had been a fleeting fancy; for a while, all would be well, but eventually—as had always been the case—she and Patty ended up alone.

Yet, there had been something different about the Titans.

For the first time in their lives, the twins had been completely accepted: they had felt as though they could be themselves and belong to someone; that they wouldn't have to put on a front in order to be acknowledged and respected as an integral part of the team. That they could love, and be loved, by people who found their flaws just as beautiful as their strengths. That night on the Jump City Bridge had dispelled those delusions of grandeur because Robin's words continued to resound in their minds.

"_Sorry, Harmony Twins. I wish there was some other way…_"

Bloodied, bruised, and battered… they'd been quickly approaching death's door—about to cross over into the world beyond... and it had been only an inconvenience to him, rather than a concern. Slade, even though he hadn't shown his face, was more important to Robin than them. After everything they had done… after how much they'd been through, and all the people they had saved… still, the twins had been expendable. They had loved Robin like a brother, and he had left them to die alone.

Percy closed her blue eyes tightly, holding back her tears: she took a few light breaths and tried mightily to calm herself down. Feeling despondent, the blonde girl sank back further into the stiff hospital bed as her waist-length hair splayed around her head like a glistening golden pillow. For a moment, she stared blankly at the ceiling tiles; her mind was still racing, still churning on all cylinders. Her brother suddenly stiffened across the room and gasped in a small voice, alerting her to another presence.

"_You are expendable, you know…_" a sly, seductive voice purred.

"Eh?" Percy whispered, eyes flying open wide: her heart began to race and her stomach tied itself into knots. It was the Angel of Wrath, but there was something much different about the voice this time... it didn't seem to be merely reverberating inside her mind, but coming… from inside her room. Persephone grabbed onto the sidebars of her bed and painstakingly strained to reach an upright position; she looked across her room to see her brother doing the same, but didn't see anyone there aside from him. The girl remained upright, the wounds to her chest and abdomen burning feverishly as she strained her injured muscles.

"_Fear not, little Angels,_" the voice whispered. "_Even when you are all by yourself… you are never really alone._"

"You're not here…" Patrokalos hissed angrily, blue eyes flashing golden in the dark. "You're playing tricks on us! You're inside our heads!"

The voice chuckled manically for a moment, sending a shiver throughout Percy's small body.

"_You are a fool, children... you should have known that you couldn't contain me forever…_" the demon snickered.

The words of the vixen-like voice resounded throughout the small, moonlit room. Sweat began to form on Percy's face as she choked back the lump in her throat. She firmly clenched the metal sidebars of his hospital bed and continued to hold herself upright; pain shot throughout her core since her body wasn't healed. Her large blue eyes flashed around the room as her breathing grew heavier and became more labored. Out of the corner of his eye, Patty saw something stirring in the shadows and quickly turned his head: he stared with dilated pupils for a moment, believing that his eyes were playing tricks on him.

He raised his right hand to his eyes and rubbed them roughly, believing sleep deprivation to be the culprit.

However, when he opened the again he could clearly discern a silhouette among the shadows.

"_Just because you wish for me to be a figment of your imagination, doesn't make it so,_" the seductive voice continued. "_After all, how often do we get what we wish for?_"

Persephone turned her head and watched in horror as a shadowy figure began to move from the corner of the room toward her brother's bedside, emerging from the darkness and taking on a tangible form. The figure's steps were slow… methodical… calculating—and so smooth and light that it appeared as though the specter was walking on air. Only a beam of moonlight separated the figure from Patty's bedside.

"_You're slipping, children, and you know it…_" the voice purred condescendingly.

The figure stepped into the moonlight pouring in from the widow, emerging from the darkness.

Persephone's eyes widened in disbelief and she gasped, taken aback by the sight of the doppelganger appearing before her. The Demon looked exactly as she did, with two notable exceptions: piercing crimson eyes that glittered like rubies and long silver hair that shone like diamonds under the moon. The nefarious creature sashayed toward the side of Percy's bed when she shivered, grasping the one of the sidebars of the bed with both hands and leaning against it before propping herself up. She directed her gaze toward the girl, who shuffled back as far as she could in a vain attempt to escape from the monster.

"_Now, Now, Child…_" the demon chided sarcastically, waving a scolding finger. "_There's no need to get all bent out of shape. You and I both know that you're in no condition to escape or resist._"

"Go away…" Percy whispered, blue eyes large and body trembling with fear.

"Leave us alone," Patrokalos hissed from across the room.

The demon smiled widely, her fangs glowing dimly in the moonlit room.

"_Why would I want to do that? I'm stuck listening to your inane drivel all of the time," s_he said slyly, shaking her head from side to side—as though to stress her discontent to the twins. The demon continued to lean against the sidebar of Percy's hospital bed, eyes fixated on the tiny blonde girl; almost as though she was sizing her up._ "I think it's time that I return the favor._"

"Wh-what do y-you want?" Persephone squeaked shrilly, heart pounding nervously inside her chest.

"_You made a deal, Little Angels,_" the Dark Angel said evenly, eyes burning like drying blood in the darkness. "_I believe I made myself clear: I saved your lives. I gave you the option; accept my help and live, or refuse my help and die. You made it clear that you wanted to live, yes? I've held up my end of the bargain, and by releasing me, your body has become stronger… and much better. Though your body is the same, you are physically stronger now than you were before, and your body's ability to heal has been improved exponentially. Yet you stubbornly shut me out and forced me to take drastic measures to get your attention._"

Patrokalos sat upright when he realized that his twin was practically paralyzed in fear of their dark side. Breathing had been difficult enough when she'd been relaxed; now, as her heart and mind raced feverishly, she felt as though she couldn't catch her breath.

"_Do you think I enjoy this?_" the demon shouted, practically rattling the walls. "You will honor your end of the deal!"

Something began to rise inside of Patrokalos and Persephone: it felt like a white-hot flame that began searing the inside of their stomachs before coursing through their veins with fervent potency. The hands of both twins began to tremble, rattling the sidebars of their beds as the feeling spread: the twins could feel all of their muscles tensing up, stretching and straining as their adrenaline began to flow freely: it was pure rage. Never before had their fury spiked so violently; it consumed every vestige of their being. The Angel of Wrath, who—up to this point—had been provoking them could feel the change in their demeanor.

She could feel the ascendancy of their anger, and she took a step away from Percy's bedside as her long blonde hair began to billow around her body.

"Shut your mouth, you conniving _bitch!"_ the twins hissed simultaneously, throwing out the words as though they were spitting acid. "We don't owe you anything! We don't need you, but you need us to stay alive! You only saved yourself since, without us, you can't even live in the _first_ place! We're two halves of the same people, but _we_ are the ones who were born into these bodies! _We_ are the ones who make the decisions, and _we_ don't owe _you_ a God damn thing! DO YOU HEAR US?! WE DON'T OWE YOU!"

"So, this is how it's going to be?" the demon asked plainly.

"You don't scare us anymore," the twins asserted sharply.

"Is that so?" the demon asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"For as long as the two of us have known about you," Percy snapped. tossed her hair like a spray of molten copper, "we have been running away from you..."

"...but not any longer! We're done!" Patty finished, glaring at the entity. "Do you hear me? We're both _done!"_

"Eh...?" the demon could only stare blankly in reply, not knowing what to think—much less what to say.

"You think you can hurt us?" Percy growled through clenched teeth, blue eyes rippling like water and glowing with yellow light. "I dare you to try! You can't even touch us! You think you understand how pain works when, in reality, _you_ don't even understand the concept of the _word!_ Patty and I have been through more agony and suffering in fifteen godforsaken _years_ than _grown men_ will ever know during the course of their _entire lives!_ If you think you can do more damage to us than has already been done to us, be my guest! Just know that we won't hold back from destroying you."

The Angel of Wrath stood dumbfounded; her plan to intimidate the twins into compliance with her wishes was not going as planned. She hadn't planned on them standing firm… she hadn't planned on them resisting. She had hoped to strike fear into their hearts before assuming control. Clearly, she'd underestimated her counterparts.

"Now, you are going to leave Persephone _and_ me alone," Patty hissed emphatically, glaring at the demon with glowing neon yellow eyes. "If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I swear on our family's grave that l will find a way to make you pay."

The boy's tone sent a shrill chill through the Dark Angel, who had been taken aback by their forcefulness: intimidation and fear-mongering were her main psychological weapons, and though she was adroit in implementing them, even she could not intimidate or strike fear into one as immovable as the twins had been.

"This isn't over, children," the demon muttered dejectedly. "If you slip, I will take control."

"Just remember what I said…" Persephone retorted forcefully, eyes glowing brighter.

The demon walked backwards into the shadows from whence she came, never taking her crimson eyes off of them. Percy took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment as they returned to normal, trying to calm herself down. When she opened them again, her irises were once again a glittering blue color and the demon was gone; vanished into thin air as though she'd never been present. Percy slowly lowered herself down on her back, sighing heavily in relief as her back hit the sheets.

"Glad that's over with," Patty mumbled, and Percy silently agreed with him.

Her pain was excruciating; it was ubiquitous and consuming, but it was hers to bear nonetheless. She took a few more deep breaths, trying to get herself comfortable while choking back the pain. As she lay amidst the pervading darkness, she began to wonder how the demon—who was tethered to their minds, had been able to appear before them so vividly. Before she could ruminate on the subject much further, both of the twins were startled by the sound of footsteps approaching from down the hall. They were drawing closer to their room: each step grew a louder than the one which preceded it, until the clattering noise stopped just outside her doorway. The door opened and the florescent overhead lights snapped on, temporarily blinding the twins—whose eyes had not been prepared to make such a radical adjustment to the light.

"Is everything okay in here? I could hear you two shouting all the way down the hall!" a man exclaimed, concern and sincerity present in his tone.

Percy brought her hands up to her eyes and rubbed them roughly for a few moments in an effort to assuage them from the shock they had endured. When she slowly opened them, she squinted and blinked until they adjusted to the light and cocked her head to the side when she saw a tall, lanky man with dirty-blonde hair standing at her bedside. The man then walked over to Patty's bed before he began checking the two electrocardiograph machines along with the intravenous line.

"Um… yes, w-we're fine. We just had a really bad nightmare, that's all…" Percy stammered, trying to sound as honest and docile as possible; the man chuckled a little bit at her remark, puzzling the girl.

"What's so funny?" Patty asked, cocking a thick blonde eyebrow. The man kept smiling and rested his hands on his hips for a moment. He bent down and picked up Percy's chart and studied it for a moment before returning it to the foot of the bed where it belonged.

"Oh, it's nothing," the man replied demurely. "It's just that… well, every moment has to feel like a nightmare. I mean, you're in the hospital—and that is some people's greatest fear."

"Oh, I see," Percy sighed, realizing that the man actually had a sense of humor. "Well, it's not as bad as I thought it'd be. Everyone's been really nice."

The man smiled as he walked over to the cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out a few supplies, including a new bag for their IV lines. He casually walked back over to the side of Percy's bed and began to swap out the old bag of saline solution in favor of the new one.

"Yeah… it's what we do," the man replied as he fiddled with the IV line. "When you're passionate about your job, life is just that much more pleasant and enjoyable. I'm sure you and your brother can relate to that, being a superheroes and all."

The twins sat silently for a moment, letting the man's words resonate in their minds: being a hero was a joy, and it certainly gave them meaning and purpose in life. If it wasn't for their status as heroes, though, they would be just another circus sideshow… a freak who was ostracized by society. At the same time, though, hero work could be thankless work: more often than not, people expected you to act on their behalf rather than appreciate the gesture. Constant scrutiny was the result of a failed mission while salutary neglect belied a successful one. Being a hero—while rewarding in its own right—didn't make life pleasant. Far too often, heroism required a diminished scope of humanity; sacrificing your needs and wants for others. Ultimately—and the twins knew this well enough—that particular path led to a lot of lonely nights and sorrow.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's cool," the man said genuinely, sentient of the blondes' hesitance.

Persephone took a deep breath and let it out slowly: she had been arguing with her brother for such a long time, replaying everything in her mind over and over again, that finding a semblance of peace had become near-impossible. Thinking things over and viewing them once more in hindsight was valuable; however, in certain situations outside opinions were more useful because they usually offered a fresh, unbiased perspective. Percy composed her thoughts for a moment, drew in a breath, and spoke.

"I was just thinking… about what you said about life being pleasant and enjoyable," the blonde girl said softly, looking at her brother with uneasy eyes when he nodded across the room. "Being a hero is the best thing that has ever happened to me and my brother, and we're very lucky to have the opportunity to make a difference in the world…"

Hush descended over the room as she searched for the right words to explain her predicament.

"But…?" the man said, realizing the girl needed some encouragement to continue with her story.

"But," Patrokalos continued, making the man blink and glance at him in surprise, "we never realized just how much we've lost because of it. We never really thought about it until now: every day the two of us wake up and fight evil, never really understanding how much of ourselves we've lost in the process."

"Well, that's what makes you special," the man replied earnestly. "Your powers are awe-inspiring, sure, but it's the fact that you're willing to sacrifice so much of yourself for the sake of others that sets you apart from them. Most people can't do that; they're either too selfish or too complacent—but you're willing to risk everything. To use your abilities to help those who are in need of help. Your sacrifices, what you give up, actually saves lives in the end. Mediocrity is overrated.'

"What about _my_ life, though? I'm like the living version of the song 'Super Girl,'" Persephone stated, staring at him before she opened her mouth and sang, "'_I'm Super Girl, and I'm here to save the world! But I wanna know: who's gonna save me…?'_"

The man raised an eyebrow at her incredible voice, then shook his head and stuck the syringe into the bottle.

The twins watched as he pulled back on the piston and drawing the clear liquid into the hypodermic.

"You give people hope and peace of mind; at the end of the day how many people can say that?" he asked.

"Not many," Percy whispered to herself as the man stuck the syringe into the intravenous line and depressed the piston, dispensing the liquid directly into her veins. The girl looked at the man nervously as the liquid from the syringe diffused into her saline drip.

"This may be a stupid question, but how have you been feeling?" the man asked.

"I feel awful," Percy said honestly, biting her lip. "My mind won't stop running circles, and I swear I keep seeing things in the shadows…"

The man removed the hypodermic needle from the intravenous line and disposed of it into a red biohazard container before he did put the same thing in her brother's IV drip: he appeared to be in deep thought as he walked back over to the foot of Percy's bed, picking up the girl's chart to give it a second look.

"They had you and your brother put on a sodium thiopental drip to dull the pain," the man said with concern. "They meant well and wanted to help you manage your pain, but sodium thiopental has a lot of wicked side effects—like dysphoria. It can even cause hallucinations or delirium. I prefer to use etomidate; it poses fewer side effects."

Percy and Patty shared a blank look before they shrugged and nodded, feeling the drugs take effect. For the first time since the accident, their minds were clearing. The twins didn't feel the burning tension of having all their gears spinning at once; they only felt a strange sort of discomfort and relief that could only be described as synthetic bliss. The man began to clean up his supplies and stow them back in the cabinet in the corner of the room for safekeeping and turned toward the door.

"Wait," Patrokalos groggily called, feeling the effects of the drugs taking hold. "Um, we didn't catch your name, sir…"

The man walked to the door and opened it before glancing over his shoulder at the boy.

"My name is William," the man replied with a faint smile. "My buddy Mark and I cover the night shift while Rebecca works days."

Will shut off the lights and turned back around.

"Thank you…" Percy whispered; her high-pitched, feathery voice was barely audible amidst the darkness, "for… every… thing."

"My pleasure, kids," Will replied blithely as he walked out of the room, letting the door softly shut behind him. Percy and Patty's eyelids began to feel heavy, and the two of them yawned as a wave of calm passed over their bodies. At the moment, their minds were quiet… at the moment, they were at peace… at the moment they felt no pain.

At the moment, their hearts weren't breaking over the words that kept repeating inside their heads.

_"Sorry Harmony Twins... I wish there was some other way."_


	28. Chapter 27: Slade's Discovery

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Slade's Discovery**

In a deep chasm in the bowels of Jump City, Slade stood before a large computer screen, re-watching the battle between the Teen Titans and Cinderblock. He often found it was best to re-watch footage such as this, as it helped him understand how the Titans reacted in real life battle scenarios. Slade watched every blow, every movement, every second of action with exhilaration. For Slade, it was like re-reading a favorite novel or re-watching a favorite film; ultimately you knew how it was going to end, but each time you found something different to appreciate about it.

Slade watched gleefully as the Harmony Twins—with those amazing glistening wings—dove intrepidly in front of the semi-truck and created the wall of frozen water, chuckling as it shattered through with a lovely tinkling sound and smashed into their bodies. He watched as the twins flipped and slammed into the nearby bridge abutment, eyes flicking to watch as the truck crushed the foundation.

Slade shook his head from side to side; unable to understand what would compel the girl and boy to act so foolishly. He continued to watch as the rest of the battle unfolded; Cinderblock used Cyborg and Robin's momentary preoccupation with the blondes' injuries as an opportunity to escape. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven lay helplessly on the asphalt, trying to collect themselves, so he was able to run right pas them. Robin sent Raven and Starfire away immediately, and they trailed Cinderblock; after a few more minutes and a whole lot of coaxing, Cyborg eventually left the scene, jumping over the cavernous hole in the Jump City Bridge to join his friends in the pursuit of the monster who had harmed the Harmony Twins.

This led up to Slade's favorite part.

Robin standing over the crumpled body of the incapacitated blondes, bathed in the eerie glow of astral light. A peculiar look was plastered on the Boy Wonder's face, as—for the first time in his entire life—he was faced with a life-or-death judgment call: pursue Cinderblock or tend to his comrades. After a few moments of pondering, the girl and her brother said something and Robin muttered a reply before he ran off into the darkness of the night.

Leaving the two of them behind.

Slade snickered to himself in self-satisfaction; Robin had abandoned a friend to pursue him. In a way, the madman knew he was responsible for Robin's fall from justice, and he savored every moment of it. Slade continued to watch the footage from the Jump City Bridge security cameras. He had already watched and re-watched the footage numerous times, but every time he found something new; some shred of information which promised to make subsequent battles against the Titans a little easier.

This session was no different.

Slade's eye was immediately drawn to the pile of rubble, where the bodies of both twins were lying motionless.

Slade's prevailing curiosity got the better of him, and he began feverishly typing away at his computer, hoping to enlarge and refine the image of them; then he noticed that something just didn't add up. After a few moments of frenetic key-clacking, an enlarged image of the identical girl and boy that Slade had once sought to be his apprentices appeared on the screen. Slade watched intently as the Titans suffered in agony, alone on the cold asphalt of the Jump City Bridge with their shimmering blonde hair splayed around their heads; Slade couldn't dream of a better ending for any of the Titans.

However, Amidst his reverie, something caught Slade's attention: he quickly rewound the tape and played it again in slow motion, zooming in further on the children's limp bodie. As Slade watched, viewing the footage frame-by-frame, he noticed something he had never noticed before: the twins were still breathing much farther in the tape, after everything had gone still. They were barely alive and unmoving, but still breathing nonetheless.

"Interesting…" Slade muttered to himself, speeding the tape up and going further into it than ever before: eventually a young man and a teenaged girl came into frame. They tended to the twins' wounds, so he skipped forward a little further into the tape until he saw a small team of paramedics descending upon the Jump City Bridge. They soon strapped the Angels' almost lifeless forms to a gurney and loaded them into a helicopter, taking off into the night. Slade paused the tape as the helicopter lifted away: after a few more patient moments of toil at the keyboard, Slade was able to zoom in on the side of the helicopter which read in large, bold letters: "JCMC: Mercy Flight."

"Very Interesting…" Slade spoke ominously, with only the worst of intentions in mind.

**TXXXXXT**

The next morning, Persephone and Patrokalos wore identical self-satisfied expressions. Patty's leg still throbbed and Percy's arm ached, but the pain was beginning to subside; what was once an unbearable searing pain had been reduced to a simple throbbing sensation. Even their chest wounds felt a little bit better: breathing was a great deal easier for the twins, and the torturous burning that had once accented each breath they'd taken was becoming less and less evident. Whatever strength the Angel of Wrath had bestowed upon them was certainly doing the trick.

Percy smiled at her brother and interlaced her delicate fingers behind her long hair as she hummed a little tune; he got the idea and joined in.

For the first time since the accident, the Twins felt like their old selves again: they continued humming and singing without words, although they longed for the amazing headphones that Cyborg had made for them. Still, the two of them sang in harmony and sank deeper into the rigid hospital bed. The twins were so relaxed, so at peace, that they didn't even hear Rebecca knocking at their door.

"Morning, Sunshines!" the petite nurse said cheerfully as she walked over to their beds: the twins had requested to be lying side by side, so the nurses and doctors had moved everything around for them. "I'm just coming to check you over and see how you're feeling!"

"We feel awesome, Becca!" the twins merrily replied, throwing their hands into the air victoriously. "We're starting to feel like our quirky old selves again!"

Rebecca smiled widely, pleased to hear that her patients were doing so well... although, when she looked at their faces, the woman was slightly taken aback by the sincerity lingering on their expressions. Often in medicine, patients would try their best to wheedle their way out of an extensive hospital stay—even if it was for the best. It was commonplace for patients to lie through their teeth to avoid remaining in the hospital, but as she looked at the twins, she could see this was not the case: Percy's vivacious blue eyes actually seemed to sparkle, and Patty's were brimming with enthusiasm.

"That's fantastic!" Rebecca exclaimed, beaming even more brightly as she checked their charts. "I see William worked with you last night."

"Yeah, he was cool! We talked with him for a while last night. He helped us understand a few things about ourselves," Percy giggled, cocking her head as she watched Rebecca move swiftly throughout the room. The woman, who had been rifling through the cabinet in the corner of the room, stopped dead in her tracks with an awestruck expression, mouth agape. She couldn't help but giggle to herself as the twins lay in her bed, perplexed by her reaction.

"What's wrong?" Patty asked, blinking at her in confusion before sharing a mystified look with his sister.

"Oh, nothing!" Rebecca laughed, covering her mouth with a huge smile. "I just can't believe William helped you figure things out about yourself! I mean, we're talking about the same guy who has wheelchair jousting competitions against the residents in the employee lounge."

"That sounds like fun to me!" Patrokalos shot back once Persephone's laughter had died away into a fit of hiccuppy little giggles: their sides were hurting a little bit from laughter. "When I'm feeling better, I am totally going to challenge him to a duel."

"Same here!" Percy piped up.

"Willy is the practical joker around here," Rebecca continued, amused by their adorable reaction. "It can be hard to take him seriously sometimes, but he really is a fantastic Physician's Assistant. He knows exactly what he's doing. Besides, it's good to get a laugh in around here once and a while."

"Yeah," Percy agreed, poking the top of her tongue out playfully. "There's nothing wrong with a good laugh."

"Even if it's at your expense?!" Rebecca asked incredulously.

"Especially if it is at your expense!" Patrokalos squawked, giving the woman a huge grin that brightened his handsome blue eyes. "You've gotta be able to laugh at yourself once and a while! If you don't take the time to laugh, the world will swallow you whole!"

Rebecca, who was changing Percy's intravenous line, paused for a moment and let the angel's words resound within her mind. She looked down at Patrokalos and could see that he was staring off into space with a rather subdued look on his face. Although he and his sister were coming across as being carefree and lighthearted, the woman began to suspect that the twins in front of her had had experienced more than their fair share of pain.

"Can you sit up for me? I'm going to change your bandages and reassess your wounds; with any luck, we'll see some improvement," Rebecca said softly as she finished changing the saline solution in Percy's IV; the blonde girl quickly snapped back to reality and did as she was told, grabbing the sidebars of her bed and lifting herself to an upright position. Rebecca walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a small pair of scissors. "I'm going to need you to hold real still, Persephone. The last thing I want is to knick you… I would feel so bad! And Patrokalos, don't look for a few minutes."

"Gotcha," the boy chuckled, rolling his eyes before he closed them. Persephone did as she was told; holding still as the nurse unbuttoned Dr. Andrew's shirt before she skillfully began cutting away the thick mass of bandages cocooning the small girl's chest and upper abdomen. She held onto the sidebars tightly, listening to the crisp sound of the scissors cutting through the gauze; after about a minute of high tension the nurse was done cutting through the bandages and she felt free to breathe once more.

"Alright, you can lie back down and I'll take a look; Patty, don't open your eyes," Rebecca said mirthfully as she walked back over to the cabinet, put the scissors away, and discarded Percy's used bandages in the garbage next to the biohazard can. She walked back over to the side of Percy's bed and took a look at her wounds, but her brown eyes grew wide and her jaw almost hit the floor; taking note of this, the girl's heart began to race and the electrocardiograph machine began to beep rapidly. She could feel her stomach churning in knots; what if her wounds were infected?

What would become of her if she wasn't healing properly?

"I-is everything alright?" Percy peeped worriedly, biting her lip; Rebecca continued to stare wide-eyed, not able to articulate exactly what she was feeling.

"I… I don't believe it!" Rebecca whispered. "I've never seen anything like this before!"

"What's amazing?" Patrokalos asked, eyes flicking behind closed eyelids. The woman quickly turned around and bolted for the scissors once again, then turned to Patrokalos and told him to keep still while she cut the bandages away for him as well. She had the same reaction when she looked at his chest, as well. The twins lay motionless when the woman back up and pressed a hand against her head, minds swirling through a multitude of possible scenarios—all of which seemed most unpleasant. The woman's expression and lack of explanation caused the fear to rise within them.

"It's… it's… amazing!" Rebecca squeaked out. "You… you're both almost… completely healed. This is unprecedented… the wounds you sustained would have normally taken a full two or three months to heal to this extent. You've only been in our care for six or seven days… it's absolutely incredible!"

"God, you scared Bajeezus outta me," Percy muttered, slumping in relief. "Miss, the two of us are angels: if Patty and I were holding hands and we actually had the energy for it, we could heal ourselves in two-hours time... but unfortunately, we don't even have enough energy to use our powers."

"I'm going to have the Doctor take a look at you guys," Rebecca said incredulously. "I don't even think that he would have expected this sort of turnaround: we may even be able to move you out of the ICU and to a less restrictive area for you to finish your recovery."

"When we get moved from the ICU, will we be able to have visitors?" Patty asked, eyes brightening up.

"Yeah! It gets pretty lonely in here and I'm sure our friends are worried about us!" Percy added enthusiastically.

"Eh…?" Rebecca whispered, smile quickly fading away; she stared blankly at the twins for a moment, trying to think of what to say.

How could you explain to someone that their loved ones had never been informed of their whereabouts?

"Is there something wrong?" Percy asked innocently, a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm going to go get the doctor… he will explain everything to you," Rebecca replied shortly, quickly turning away from the twins. Both blondes could tell that the woman was upset; something wasn't quite right, and they intended to get to the bottom of it. Rebecca scurried out of their room, rushing down the hallway and weaving between other nurses and orderlies as she ran. Whatever they'd said to her had really struck a nerve; she'd been fine one moment—laughing and joking—and uncharacteristically taciturn the next.

The twins lay quietly in their respective beds, completely naked except for the blankets of blonde hair covering Percy's breasts and the hospital sheets covering her and her brother's lower bodies. Rebecca's abrupt departure had left the with more than their fair share of unanswered questions, which piqued their curiosity. Percy turned her head toward the all-pervading grayness outside her window, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

**TXXXXXT**

Dr. Andrews sat at the desk in his office with the blinds drawn and the overhead lights off, preferring the light of his desk lamp. He sat in silence, poring over patient files as he sipped cold coffee out of an over-sized mug. The room was quiet; only the barely audible hum of the cold air return could be heard. The doctor roughly rubbed his tired eyes in a vain attempt to invigorate himself. After nineteen years of practicing medicine, one learned to sleep lightly and operate at high efficiency on little or no rest. However, a frantic knock at the door jolted the exhausted man from his daze. He slowly got to his feet, stretching out his lower back as he rose from his leather chair; after removing his glasses and tossing them on his desk, he headed for the door.

When he opened it, a rather frazzled Rebecca waltzed in: she appeared to be on the verge of tears as she stepped into his office.

"Before you tell me whatever you need to say," Dr. Andrews said gruffly, with a smile on his face, "I would like to point out that I just bought a new coffee cup; I like this one, so I don't want any bad news! My coffee cups always seem to be the object of my frustrations."

Rebecca would have normally found humor in the Doctor's quip, but at present nothing seemed to be funny. How was she to tell the Doctor that the twins were asking about their friends? Worse yet, how were they going to break the news to the twins themselves? Dr. Andrews, seeing that Rebecca was not at all amused, quickly choked down his childlike wit and realized that something was amiss.

"What is it, Rebecca?" Dr. Andrews asked. "What's the matter?"

"It's the twins," Rebecca replied, overwhelmed by her mercurial emotions. "Their wounds look so much better that I think they might be completely healed in only a few more days, so I mentioned that I would confer with you about their condition."

"That's standard procedure, so what's wrong with it?" Dr. Andrews asked, confused by the nurse's apparent overreaction.

"You don't understand, Doctor," Rebecca replied, breathing heavily in an attempt to catch her breath. "When I mentioned their incredible recovery, I told them that they would likely be transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit; the twins asked me if they'll be able to have visitors when they're transferred to it. The twins don't know about your gag order, Doctor—they don't even know that the Titans haven't been informed that they're okay!"

"Oh, dear…" Dr. Andrews murmured, sitting down in his chair as his heart sank into his shoes; he'd figured that eventually—after getting over the concussion and the subsequent confusion—the twins might get curious as to why no one had visited her. He had hoped to avoid answering the question directly; conflicts with patients were never fun, and when someone as imposing as a god and goddess was involved, it simply made a bad situation worse.

Dr. Andrews frowned as he furrowed his brow, trying to think of some way—any way—he could talk his way out of this.

"Doctor," Rebecca said, voice trembling in trepidation, "What are we going to do?"

Dr. Andrews thought for a moment: he could try to deceive the twins and, in the process, deflect blame from himself and reassure them that only their recovery was important. The other option—the more difficult option—was to tell them the truth and hope that they would understand the situation.

Dr. Andrews was in an awkward position.

"I believe that honesty is the best policy, Rebecca," Dr. Andrews replied in a docile tone, attempting to calm the concerned nurse. "This is my mess and I intend to clean it up. I will tell them the truth and hope that they accepts it."

Rebecca nodded sheepishly, but she undoubtedly felt worried for the man: she didn't know how the twins would react to this sort of new, and while she hoped the blonde girl and boy would be forgiving, the nurse realized that they had every reason to be resentful.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Dr. Andrews," Rebecca whimpered.

"So do I," Dr. Andrews replied earnestly, and the pair left the room in order to walk down the hall toward the Intensive Care Unit. The plainness of the hallway—white walls, white linoleum floor, and white ceiling—made it seem interminable. They did not speak; both were worried of what was awaiting them in the ICU. Only the sound of their footsteps echoing down the corridor could be heard. After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the large double-doors at the entrance of the ICU. The man turned to Rebecca, who was shaking like a leaf: she was clearly fearful of what was to come.

"Rebecca," Dr. Andrews said gently, "why don't you go grab a cup of coffee and take a few minutes to get some fresh air? I'll call you back in after I'm done talking to them."

"Are you kidding?" she exclaimed vociferously. "If they become belligerent, they could kill you!"

"I don't think it will go that far," Dr. Andrews said sternly. "The twins will be angry with me, but better me than you, Will, or Mark. They'll be dealing with the three of you on a face-to-face daily basis, so it'll be better if they direct their hostility toward me. Now, go grab that coffee."

Rebecca took the hint and began reluctantly walking away from Dr. Andrews, who pushed through the double-doors slowly, and walked down the hallway, to the first room on the right. He took a deep breath, and exhaled quickly. He did so once more and walked into the twins' room before his mind could convince him to run the other way. As Doctor Andrews walked into the room, the twins pulled themselves into upright positions.

The girl and boy beamed at the Doctor, who returned it.

"You look well, guys," Dr. Andrews said honestly, trying to mask the nervousness in his voice. "How do you feel?"

"I feel great, but is Rebecca okay? We didn't upset her, did we?" Percy asked worriedly, biting her lip as she used her hair to hide her chest; Dr. Andrews shook his head and pulled a chair between the beds before taking a seat. He reached for their charts and quickly scanned through it as he sat down.

"I see that Will switched you from sodium thiopental to etomidate," he murmured, looking up at them after a moment. "He wrote here that you were both suffering from hallucinations and dysphoria, which are common side effects of any potent sedative. You seem very clear-headed and alert, so you are adjusting well to the switch. I am going to check over your flesh wounds and see how they are healing; Rebecca seemed quite impressed with your progress, and I trust her judgment. Can you lie on your back for a moment, please, Persephone?"

The blonde girl did as she was instructed and slowly lowered herself down onto her back: Doctor Andrews pulled out his stethoscope and pulled it on. He blew gently on the cold, metal end of the stethoscope—warming it ever so slightly before he placed the metal end on her chest.

"Breathe in deeply, then exhale" Dr. Andrews ordered; Percy did as she was told. "One more time, please."

The man took a close look at Percy's wounds, examining them thoroughly. However, Dr. Andrews' expression instantly changed involuntarily from one of demure professionalism to one of unbridled awe before he quickly did the same for Patrokalos. His eyebrows shot towards the ceiling and he blinked.

"My god," he breathed, face going blank.

"What's the news?" Percy asked curiously.

"In all my years of medicine," Dr. Andrews replied in a deeply impressed tone. "I have never seen anyone recover from such serious wounds so quickly. Your lungs are nearly healed and your flesh wounds are healing nicely; Rebecca will be able to remove the stitches from above your eyes soon. The wounds to your chest and abdomen are still going to need a little time before I feel comfortable with removing the sutures, but they are healing _well_ ahead of schedule. Patty, I'd like to get an updated X-ray on your left leg to see how the fracture is healing; same with your arm, Percy. Judging by how your other wounds are mending, I would say that your limbs are probably well on their way. Congratulations, guys! You are officially out of the woods!"

"Does this mean that we'll be getting moved out of the Intensive Care Unit?" Percy asked excitedly.

"Rebecca mentioned something about it earlier!" Patty added, sharing an excited look with his sister.

Dr. Andrews' mind began to race because he could see where this was going, and he didn't like it. However, he had dug himself into this hole and it was only fair that he bear the brunt of the repercussions. He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together nervously, fearing the worst.

"Yes, you will be transferred to the rehabilitation wing for the duration of your stay," Dr. Andrews said with a disarming smile. "It's a little quieter over there; a lot less hustle and bustle, really. I think you'll be able to get rest in that setting while rebuilding the strength in your limbs and lung capacity."

"Um… will we be able to see our friends?" Percy asked once more, practically pleading with the Doctor. "I'm sure they're worried about us."

Dr. Andrews' smile quickly faded from his face, as Rebecca's had earlier: Patrokalos quickly took note of this and shared a look with his sister as they both began wondering what was going on. Dr. Andrews walked over to the door and closed it, wanting to keep this conversation as private as possible; then he walked back over to their bedside and took a seat in the chair he'd pulled up for himself.

"I'm going to be honest with you, guys," Dr. Andrews said reluctantly. "This isn't going to be easy for me, but I'm hoping that you will understand: your friends… they… they…were never told that you made it here."

"What do you mean?" Persephone demanded, expression changing from one of childish confusion to incredulous anger in the span of a second: she couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"When the paramedics brought you in, I had a choice to make," Dr. Andrews said, wondering now—as he'd witnessed their pain firsthand—whether or not he had made the right decision. "I tried to do what I thought was best for you…"

"Well, you were wrong!" Patrokalos bellowed angrily, chastising the repentant doctor. "What the heck were you thinking?!"

Dr. Andrews, normally a very even-tempered—almost stoic—man, began to feel his own temper begin to boil over. First of all, he'd put his reputation on the line by operating on two known superheroes. Secondly, he'd put their safety _and_ the safety of everyone at the Jump City Medical Center in jeopardy by housing the twins in front of him... and thirdly, they were being bitterly ungrateful.

"I was thinking about your safety!" Dr. Andrews shouted angrily. "You kids are superheroes! There are plenty of people out there who would love to take advantage of you in your weakened state, so in order to prevent something like that from happening, I made everyone working with you sign a gag order preventing them from speaking publicly about your case under threat of legal recourse! That way no one would flippantly divulge your whereabouts!"

"Why not our _friends,_ then?!" Persephone shrieked, practically on the verge of tears. "They're the only family we have!"

"Without them, we have nothing!" Patrokalos bawled, covering his eyes. "We have nothing but each other without them."

"Don't you think a group of well-known superheroes would attract a crowd?" Dr. Andrews growled back brusquely. "If I have a group like that showing up on a regular basis, there _will_ be crowds—and it only takes one idiotic act to turn a crowd into a hysterical mob!"

"The Titans should have been told where we were!" Percy shrieked, shaking her fist. "They must all think that we…"

However, the girl suddenly stopped screaming and her face became blank: her voice went from a hysterical screech to stone-silence in an instant.

It was as though the pieces had fallen into place like a mosaic; everything began to make sense. Robin had left them behind to pursue Slade, which was a hard pill to swallow as it was—but the twins had figured that the other Titans had known they were alive and well; they had assumed the hospital had been under a legal obligation to notify someone of their condition. Tears simultaneously began to trickle down their cheeks, making the man go pale.

He hadn't meant to make them cry.

"Listen, guys," Dr. Andrews sighed, feeling awful that he'd lost his temper with the downtrodden twins. "When you were first brought in, I got nervous and made a snap judgment. I needed to do what was best for you and for the other patients in the hospital. We couldn't find a shred of information on file for your Next of Kin aside from Terrahalia D'Andesyrius, and we don't have any way to contact her. We didn't contact the Titan because of the publicity issue: we kept your story quiet to prevent an incident here at the hospital. It's hard enough trying to keep track of who is coming and going; the last thing we wanted was some maniac sneaking in here and trying to kill you in order to make a name for himself."

The twins looked at him, but didn't respond: tears continued trickling from their eyes, but their breathing was even and calm.

"I understand if you're angry with me," the man stated uneasily, rubbing his hair with anxious movements, "but if you're looking for someone to blame, it was my decision. Rebecca, Will, and Mark had nothing to do with it; this was my call, and I'll gladly take the blame for it. The safety of my patients comes before the security of any one individual: never forget that. I would gladly throw one sheep to the wolves before letting the entire flock get destroyed."

Dr. Andrews exited the room as the twins stared off into space: their minds kept running in circles as two hearts sank through the floor. Patty and Percy finally understood why no one had attempted to come visit them; they understood why they were bearing the brunt of this pain alone in the dark.

"They… t-they… t-think that we're… that we…" Patrokalos stuttered, but the words kept choking on their way through.

It finally made sense to them.

Robin had left the twins behind, either thinking they were dead or assuming they were going to die. Somehow they'd been saved and brought to the Jump City Medical Center, where the surgeons had managed to save their lives. Although they'd accomplished this feat, they'd never notified the other Titans about their recovery. Robin's word on what had happened was all they had since his account was practically gospel.

Percy could feel tears spilling down over her cheeks even more as the familiar, hollow pain of loneliness began to creep up on her; she and Patty shared a look full of nothing but raw pain. Their friends—the only family they had left besides Terra—believed they were dead. The twins tried to choke back they tears, but found that they were unable to stop crying. The two of them felt like the little boy and girl stumbling through the woods once more, desperately searching for their old house and their parents with no one in the world to hold them... no one to assuage their pain.

No one to tell them that everything would be alright…

**TXXXXXT**

Beast Boy sat on the roof of Titan's Tower, trying to meditate like Raven was always doing; even though he had been trying to put Persephone out of his mind, he was having great difficulty doing it. The girl permeated his mind at every turn; it had gotten to the point where he could hardly think without the small girl breaking his concentration. The icy wind nipped at his skin as he gazed upon the astral sky: the moon was shining, but it was slowly being overtaken by thick clouds that were moving in from the east. Beast Boy stared at the moon, admiring how its glow continued shining despite the clouds.

Once more, his thoughts turned to Percy.

"Her eyes…" the changeling said quietly to himself, burying his face in his knees as his long ears drooped toward the ground. "There was always that innocent sparkle in her eyes. Even when I was at my lowest, all it took was one look into her big blue eyes and I immediately felt better about everything."

Tears began to flow from the changeling's green eyes, stinging his face as the wind whipped through his disheveled green hair: after a moment, he slowly climbed to his feet and began to pace back and forth on the roof, not knowing what to do with himself. He looked up and saw the light of the moon shining strongly between the clouds and hung his head before looking back up at it. His large, catlike eyes were sparkling with tears as he stared.

"Percy…" Beast Boy said, voice trembling with emotion, "I don't know if you can hear me… but I think I need to say all the things I've held inside before I can put what happened to you behind me. You told me once that I'm not alone in the world, but ever since… the accident… I've felt more alone than ever before. I've tried to be strong like you were; helping the others see the light in the darkness, and lifting their spirits… but I can't. It may be pathetic to say since I'm a guy and all, but I'm not strong like you were. I can't put on a brave face every day and forge ahead anymore. I don't know how you and Patrokalos did it... how you were both able to get knocked down so many times and get back up time and again. I don't know how you were able to see such beauty in the world, or feel such joy after losing so much so often. You made the world a better place... you made the Titans a stronger team… you made me a better person. When I first met you and the others, I was so secluded… so cut off from the rest of the world. I'd never known the joys of friendship; I'd only known of duty and fate. You showed me a part of myself that I've never known. You saw things in me that no one had ever seen before… things that even Terra didn't see. You didn't just dismiss me as a freak of nature; you looked more deeply into me than anyone else had and went clean out of your way to make me feel like I belonged. In the process, you healed my wounded soul… and woke up my heart."

Beast Boy's green eyes began streaming and his face twisted up with grieving anger.

"Percy, I… love you," he whispered, lips trembling as he fought back the urge to cry. "I'll never forget everything that you've done for me. Everything you taught me will change the world. I'll hold you in my heart until the day I die, Persephone: I once heard someone say in a cheesy documentary that the length of your life isn't measured by the years you lived, but how long you're remembered after you're gone. If that's the case, you'll live on forever."

Garfield Logan looked back to the moon, which hung solemnly overhead—practically covered over by the wraith-like clouds blotting the night sky.

He finally began crying and plopped down again, burying his face in his knees.

"I love you, Persephone D'Andesyrius…" Beast Boy whined, voice trembling as he spoke. "I love you… and it took _losing_ you for me to figure it out."

The cacophonous blaring of his communicator snapped the teenager from his pain: he reached down to his belt and pulled out the yellow device, flipping it open quickly to reveal Robin on the other end—his facial expression a veritable cornucopia of troubles.

"Robin?" Beast Boy asked in confusion, ears sticking up a little more. "Hey, man, what's wrong?"

"Beast Boy!" Robin barked. "We need you down in the Common Room right away!"

"Robin, what's going on?" the changeling asked.

"We just got a message…" Robin stated, concern permeating his tone. "It's from Slade…"


	29. Chapter 28: The Second Proposal

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Second Proposal**

Beast Boy rushed to the Common Room as quickly as his feet could carry him, barreling through the long carpeted hallways of the Tower. His mind raced incessantly, like a dog chasing its tail: Slade was cunning and opportunistic, and he had been lying low...obviously waiting for the perfect time to strike out at the Titans. Apparently, that time was now.

After what seemed like an eternity, the changeling arrived at the Common Room: the door abruptly hissed open and he quickly entered, finding Robin working feverishly at the computer while Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire stood nearby—awaiting orders.

"Dude, what's going on?" Beast Boy demanded.

"A few minutes ago we received a message from Slade," Robin barked back, typing away at the computer. "He's made a threat against the entire city, so I'm going to replay the transmission."

Cyborg folded his arms and awaited Slade's message with nervous anticipation; whatever the man had said had everyone in the Common Room on edge; the tension in the room was like a dense fog, permeating the hearts and minds of the other Titans. After a few moments, Robin queued up the transmission for playback. With a few more keystrokes, the image of Slade's dichotomous black and orange mask appeared on the large screen in the Common Room, his eye narrowing in a sort of malicious self-satisfaction.

"Good evening, Titans," Slade said demurely, deep voice penetrating every corner of the Common Room. "It has been quite a while since our last encounter and many circumstances have changed. I must admit, I was quite surprised that Cinderblock's attack had such a profound impact on the five of you: I merely sent him to destroy the bridge and get your attention, but he has exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds."

Beast Boy grit his teeth, seething inside so badly that he nearly shifted into the form of the Beast: he was now trying with all of his might to keep his emotions in check. The smugness in Slade's voice was almost too much to bear; he was responsible for Persephone's death, and he was absolutely ecstatic about it. Raven also clenched her fists tightly, employing every ounce of restraint to choke down her own anger.

"The death of the Harmony Twins has been difficult for all of you," Slade sneered, "but if I were in your position, I would be less concerned about the past and more focused on what is to come. After all, their suffering is over; yours—and by extension, Jump City's—is only just beginning."

Beast Boy averted his eyes from the screen; though he knew he had to listen to the message, he could hardly bear to hear another syllable since his heart had begun to sink. He glanced over toward Raven, who was shaking and visibly upset, then looked at Cyborg: the bionic teenager stood with his huge arms crossed, leaning against the wall and looking down toward the floor. The big guy looked as though he was on the verge of tears; after all, the twins had been his closest friends, and Slade's vicious words had ripped open wounds that had only just begun to heal. Starfire was also visibly shaken: she had flopped down on the large couch and buried her head in her hands, not wanting the others to see her weep so openly.

"I must admit that I am rather disappointed by all of you," Slade continued, eye narrowing gleefully behind his mask. "You have allowed your grief to weigh down your hearts and cloud your minds. It has made you myopic… blind. You have allowed the loss of one life to put you in a position to lose much more. Within the hour, I will lay siege to four locations in Jump City, destroying the city's infrastructure while watching as the civilized populace devolves… and embraces anarchy. All you must do is figure out where I will strike, but to do that you must put your sorrow aside… remember… the clock is ticking. You have until sunrise to stop me… or watch your beloved city burn to the ground. The choice is yours…"

In a flash, the screen faded to black.

Cyborg looked worriedly to Robin, whose expression mirrored his own: the teenager's then eye darted around the room, looking to his teammates. Beast Boy had a blank expression on his face—as though he was struggling internally not to lose control of his inner Beast. It came as no surprise to the Bionic teenager, who could sense the changeling's tension from across the room. He was wrestling with his grief and a sense of duty to the people of Jump City. Starfire also remained uncharacteristically taciturn: aside from the Harmony Twins, the Tamaranian Princess had been the most likely to interject with a few hopeful words. Instead, she merely stared out the window and her troubled mind was betrayed by her expressionless countenance.

"What is the plan, Robin?" Cyborg asked, mind swirling fervently.

Robin stared vacuously into the computer screen, laboring over the problem at hand.

"I'm working on it, Cy: this threat is vague… even for Slade," Robin replied sharply, swiveling in his chair and facing his friends. He slumped forward, resting his elbows on his knees and letting his arms dangle casually in front of him. "Let's start with what we know. We know that he is going to attack four major areas in Jump City before daybreak."

"We know that Slade is targeting the entire city," Raven chimed in. "He mentioned the 'infrastructure.'"

"He also stated that he wished to see the people embrace… the anarchy," Starfire said almost inaudibly, concentrating on the problem at hand. "Perhaps Slade intends to attack structures which make civilized existence possible."

"So we're looking at sites that impact the entire population," Robin continued, putting the pieces together. The group sat in rumination for a moment. A hush descended upon the room and only the howling winds outside and the sound of rain pattering against the windowpane could be heard.

"Utilities…" Beast Boy whispered, green eyes widening as he, surprisingly, began to fit the pieces all together. "If he wanted to cripple Jump City… if he wanted to let chaos reign… all he would have to do is destroy the utilities."

In an instant, Robin swiveled back around in his chair and began working at the computer, furiously typing away, as he pulled a digital map of the city up on the big screen in the Common Room. After a few more moments, a handful of red dots appeared on the screen, highlighting areas of interest.

"Alright, team!" Robin explained, gesturing toward the screen. "On the map, I've highlighted the major utilities which service Jump City: the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility—where we last encountered Cinderblock—is the only filtration and purification facility in Jump City. If Slade was going at try and destroy the city's fresh water supply, he would have to destroy this facility. Next, there's the Jump City Power Authority, which supplies electricity to the entire city. There are two locations, one which controls the eastern grid and one which controls the western grid. If the main hub—located at the western location—is damaged, everyone in the city will be without power. The final location indicates the Jump City Fuel Company. This facility provides natural gas to the entire city. Without it, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning would all be nixed."

"If Slade is successful," Cyborg said gruffly, walking toward the rest of his teammates, "the entire city will be crippled."

"It's a bold plan, even for Slade," Robin replied knowingly, understanding the severity of the situation. "However, if there is anyone… any criminal who would stand a chance of pulling this attack off, it would be him."

Cyborg nodded in agreement as Robin rose from his seat in front of the computer, prepared to give each of his teammates their assignment.

Suddenly, Starfire rose from the couch, an expression of concern plastered over her face.

"Please, friends!" Starfire exclaimed loudly and forcefully, lifting gently into the air as she spoke. "Did Slade not say that there would be _four_ targets?!"

Robin and Cyborg immediately froze, remembering the villain's words. They believed that they had completely deciphered Slade's cryptic threat, however—as Starfire astutely pointed out—they had yet to uncover one of the targets.

"We've already highlighted all of the utilities that serve the city," Cyborg said, perplexed by the conundrum. "What have we overlooked?"

"We have to keep in mind that Slade isn't just targeting us, he's targeting the entire city," Robin added, rubbing his temples as though to stimulate his mind. "In order to uncover the last location, we have to think like Slade. We have to find out what his definition of 'infrastructure' includes."

Cyborg, Raven, Robin, and Starfire stood silently once more, their minds hard at work. The winds grew evermore despondent outside, whipping by the Tower with insatiable voracity. Rain continued to violently beat against the large bay window in the Common Room, the sound of which was difficult to ignore.

"We've been looking at this from the wrong perspective," Raven said evenly, breaking the omnipresent silence which had permeated the room. "We've been looking at utilities, but we neglected to look at services."

"What do you mean, Raven?" Cyborg asked inquisitively, furrowing his brow as he looked questionably at the Empath.

Robin, Beast Boy and Starfire also looked at Raven curiously, trying to discern the meaning behind her words.

"Think about it," Raven replied cogently. "If people were stranded in their homes with no power, heat, or fresh water, there would be a panic. There would be many people who would need medical services; diabetics, dialysis patients, and people on oxygen or respirators would all need to get their medical supplies."

"And if Slade's plan is to incite anarchy, what better way than to attack emergency services and first responders?" Robin added, his eyes narrowing, disgusted by Slade's cowardice and insidiousness. Cyborg, who had been standing with his arms crossed, listening to the conversation intently, suddenly walked over to the computer, as though driven by a sudden, nagging notion. He quickly sat down and began to interface with the computer, his alacritous movements appearing more instinctual than intentional.

"Cyborg," Robin said glancing over at his mechanical friend, "What's going on?"

"This threat to the city is one of the greatest we have ever faced," Cyborg said, voice all-business; his timbre resounding strongly within the Common Room. "Slade is a master of deception, but even he can't be in four places at once."

"You think he has help?" Robin asked incredulously.

"It's the only explanation that makes sense," Raven interjected, gritty voice more steadfast than before. "Slade doesn't like to get his hands dirty. If he can get someone else to do his dirty work for him, he will."

"Exactly," Cyborg replied, pleased with himself. "I'm currently running a diagnostic scan of our points of interest. I am cross-referencing the data and looking for any traces of elevated radioactivity or electromagnetic fields."

"Excuse my interruption, but do you believe that the Plasmus and the Overload have joined forces with Slade?" Starfire chimed in, curiosity getting the better of her; Cyborg nodded assent, confirming Starfire's suspicions.

"Whenever Slade attacks," Cyborg replied soberly, "Cinderblock, Plasmus, and Overload are never usually too far away. Raven did a huge number on Cinderblock in our last encounter when he attacked the Water Facility, and I doubt he's fully healed, so that takes him out of the equation. However, Plasmus and Overload are still at large—and if they were going to reveal themselves, now would be the time."

An awkward silence descended upon the Common Room. The tension lingered on, like an elephant in the room.

After a few moments of complete silence, Cyborg's voice cut through the palpable stillness.

"I've picked up traces of elevated radioactivity," Cyborg said, his now-mirthful voice filling the Common Room. "I've triangulated the position and determined that he is currently stationed at the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility. I've also picked up an elevated electromagnetic field, which is centered around the western grid of the Jump City Power Authority."

"Great work, Cyborg!" Robin said, voice growing in confidence. "Now that we have two confirmed targets, we know that we're on the right track. With Cinderblock out of commission, Slade will have to come to the surface. That leaves two options: the Jump City Fuel Company or the city's emergency medical network."

"But Robin," Starfire murmured, faintly above a whisper, "we haven't enough time to stop Slade. He said we have only until the rise of the sun. The break of dawn is merely a few short hours away."

Robin looked at his teammates, who were clearly weary and running only on adrenaline. They all appeared weathered, as though they had been put through the wringer several times. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven all had dark bags under their eyes from lack of sleep. Even Cyborg looked worn out; his mechanical side keeping sleep an arms-length away. Though Robin hated to admit it, he was also tired, his somnolent eyes feeling heavier by the second.

"We're going to need to split up," Robin said plainly. "I know it isn't the best solution, but it's the only way for us to put a stop to Slade's plan—"

"—and that's just what he wants!" Raven interjected sharply, voice cutting through Robin's rationale. "The last time we split up, the Brotherhood of Evil almost wiped us out! It was only because of Beast Boy that we won, and it was only because he was able to unite the Honorary Titans and save the world by themselves! We need to _learn_ from our mistakes, not repeat them!"

"I agree with Raven!" Cyborg replied brusquely. "If we stick together, we can knock out Slade's plan piece by piece. Plus, we're going into this mission without the twins."

"Look!" Robin growled, exasperated by his teammates questioning his decision. "We don't have a lot of time. It's 4:46 a.m. right now, and sunrise is in only about two hours. Even with the twins and the best of conditions, we couldn't hope to sweep through four locations in that amount of time! We have to work with what we've got!"

Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire all looked at each other incredulously. Sticking together was the better, safer option, and they all knew it. Slade's plan had been to divide the Titans and hope to defeat them individually rather than as a strong, cohesive unit. Robin, however, was letting his obsession with Slade and his competitive, dogmatic nature cloud his judgment. The Boy Wonder was clearly playing right into the hands of his nemesis.

"What is your plan, Robin?" Starfire asked sheepishly, hoping not to further upset her agitated beau.

Robin turned and faced his team, looking at them directly in the eyes.

"Cyborg and Beast Boy," Robin began, resolve saturating his tone, "I want you both to go to the Jump City Power Authority and confront Overload; you have dealt with him one-on-one before. Starfire, I want you to go to the Jump City Water Sanitation Facility and take down Plasmus before he contaminates the city's water supply."

The three of them nodded in agreement and Robin turned to Raven, his eyes practically ablaze with intensity in anticipation of the altercation to come.

"Raven, I want you to sweep the major health care providers in the area." Robin ordered sternly.

"Robin, wouldn't it make more sense for me to go to the Jump City Fuel Company?" the girl asserted, cocking an eyebrow. "A lot of your weapons have explosive properties… one wrong move and the whole building could go up."

Robin looked at the teenager pensively; the Empath had made a good point, however his decision was final.

"Raven," Robin continued, stating his case. "I want you to sweep the hospitals in the area. That includes Jump City General, Jump City Memorial, and Jump City Medical Center. You can teleport and cover far more ground than I could. The fate of Jump City rests firmly in our hands. Slade is trying to plunge the city into darkness; to allow fear and panic to overrun peace and civility. We are all that stands between Jump City and certain destruction. Failure is not an option; we must take the fight to him and hit him hard and fast. When the dust settles… when the sun rises this morning, we'll know that all of our grief, all of our hardship, all of our sacrifice hasn't been in vain."

Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire looked at their leader with fire and brimstone in their eyes.

They weren't just fighting for themselves, or to simply avenge their fallen friends. They were fighting for something greater than themselves, united by a common purpose against a common foe. One way or another, Jump City would never be the same. Robin eyed up each of his teammates; the climate of the room was electric as each of the Titans stood, prepared to sacrifice everything to put an end to Slade's reign of terror.

"You know what you need to do," Robin said his voice unwavering, steadfast in his convictions. "Teen Titans… GO!"

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone lay awake amidst the darkness, tossing and turning precariously in her hospital bed. Though she was exhausted, her restless mind made sleep a virtual impossibility. What Robin had done was selfish and heartless, but no amount of bloodshed could ever change what had happened to her and Patrokalos. Percy sighed and finally rolled over on her back, staring at the ceiling in the darkness with luminous blue eyes: the darkened room was quiet, so the sound of the rain pounding against her window and Patrokalos breathing gently was her only distraction. Each night the girl spent in the hospital, rolling around disconsolately in her bed, seemed to grow longer and more desolate than the one that had preceded it.

"At least during the day, there are people walking down the halls and making noise," Percy sighed, pulling herself up into a seated position. "At night, there's nothing to keep the uncertainty from swallowing me whole."

"I know what you mean," her brother mumbled, making her jump in surprise. "I can't fall asleep, either, but I don't roll around like you do."

"Why don't we take a walk, then?" Percy asked, looking at him when he slowly sat up and scratched his waist-length blonde hair.

"Sounds good to me," Patty sighed, looking up towards the ceiling and turning his face away. "Although, I'd prefer it if _you'd_ get dressed first."

"Oh, shush," the blonde girl muttered, not even embarrassed by that comment. "Rebecca brought some old dresses she thought would fit me, and Will has a pair of pants that he left in the cupboard over there. You'll have to go without underwear, but at least _I_ have that grace thanks to Becca."

"Yeah, you're not helping my anxiety with that topic," Patrokalos pointed out, cocking an eyebrow before he rolled over on his side. "Let me know when you're dressed so I can throw on those pants you mentioned. Being naked isn't exactly a comfortable feeling when your sister is in the room."

"Oh, and you think it is for _me?" _the girl snorted in amusement as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed her bare feet on the cold linoleum floor below. A shiver worked its way up her spine, causing goosebumps to form on her skin: slowly and methodically, she inched closer to the edge of the bed before lifting herself to her feet. Percy kept one hand on the bed, steadying herself as she took a few short steps—working the dull pain of inactivity from her legs. With her free hand, the goddess kneaded the muscles in her legs, massaging them in an attempt to get them to loosen up.

After a few more moments, she removed her hand from the bed and began to walk gingerly. Percy stepped softly, inching toward the window: with every step she took, she felt stronger; the pain in her legs was almost completely gone now, and she was feeling a lot better physically. Persephone stood in front of the window, blonde hair shining in the lights of Jump City as she placed her hand on the glass and gazed out at it. She took in the sight of the skyline in the darkness and watched as the rain cascaded from the sky above, blown around in every which direction by the swirling winds. As she stared out the window, the girl caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass: she stared, feeling transfixed... because she barely recognized herself.

She looked almost as bad as she had after leaving the Facility... but something was different.

It wasn't just the injuries that made her a stranger to herself; it was something more… something deeper and more profound. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but somehow, the person staring back at her seemed colder and more distant... more fragile. Her electric blue eyes, which normally twinkled with mischief and childish glee, were dull and sullen—seemingly world-weary. The expression didn't fit her youthful face, and she felt a little disturbed by how much _older_ she looked. Persephone closed her eyes and shook her head; she couldn't bear to look at her reflection any longer. Though she knew that what she saw in the glass was an image of herself, she was disgusted by how strikingly unfamiliar it seemed.

"I know that we're lucky to be alive, Patty, but I can't seem to shake off these feelings in m heart," Percy told her brother. "What do we do now? We have nowhere to go and nothing to do but sit here and watch the weather change."

She hated feeling sorry for herself, but in the dead of night—when she was at her lowest—she couldn't help herself.

"You dressed yet?" Patty asked in a grumpy tone.

"I'm going, I'm going," the girl sighed, limping over to the edge of the cabinet and pulling out the bra and underwear that Rebecca had given her. After the underclothes were resting on her body, the girl pulled down the floral dress and slid it over her head. Once it was on, she pulled her hair out from under the clothes and fluffed it out; she smoothed the fabric down before eying her appearance. She looked pretty good. "Okay, I'm done changing, so you can get up... but wait until I'm in the bathroom so I don't see anything gross."

"Says the girl who had her boobs on display for the doctor," her brother teased, making the girl turn crimson with disbelief.

_"E-excuse_ me?" she squeaked, voice coming out extremely high-pitched due to her shock. "Patty, that's the grossest thing you've ever said! Yuck!"

"I know," the blonde boy chuckled, sticking his tongue out in amusement. "Now 'git before you see something unpleasant. I want to get dressed!"

"I'm going!" the girl muttered, limping into the bathroom after shooting a baffled glare at her brother. "Sheesh, boys are such perverts."

Percy stood in the bathroom in silence for several moments before the knock and her brother's laugh told her it was safe to come out. She immediately realized that the pants had been too long, so he had cuffed them up... but her brother merely cocked an eyebrow when she stared at his chest.

"Why are you gawkin' at me?" the boy laughed, rolling his eyes as he took his sister's hand for the first time in what felt like _years._

The flood of foreign emotions surged through both twins as their powers fused and their soul became whole once more.

"Did we really get hurt that badly?" she asked in a small voice, still staring at the fresh scars. "These scars look worse than the ones from the Facility."

"Yup, we did," he sighed, pulling her into a hug with gentle movements, "but we're fine now, so there's nothing to worry about."

It was around that moment when the twins heard footsteps coming from the end of the hallway: they paused and remained completely still in each other's arms, concentrating on the sound of the hollow clacking... which continued to grow louder and more pronounced. Persephone and Patrokalos moved quickly, walking to the side of their beds and gently lowering themselves in—trying to look as though they'd been there the whole time.

Suddenly, the sound of the footsteps stopped just in front of their door: the twins could see a figure standing motionlessly just outside of their room before the knob slowly turned and the lights flicked on. The bright overhead lights temporarily blinded the twins, who threw their arms over their eyes to shield them from the harshness of the intruding light.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" a cheery female voice exclaimed apologetically. "I didn't know you guys were awake!"

It was Rebecca.

Percy took a few moments to compose herself, slowly but surely allowing her sensitive eyes to adjust to the light before removing her forearm from her line of sight completely.

"It's alright," Persephone piped back, eyes lighting up as she flashed the woman a reassuring smile. "My brother and I actually wouldn't mind some company right now, but you're here awfully early, though… I guess you couldn't wait to see us, huh?"

"I wanted to come in a little early today," the petite nurse replied earnestly. "I wanted to apologize to you and Patrokalos. I can't imagine going through what you have, and I especially can't imagine going through it all alone. I shouldn't have lied to you."

"You had no choice," Patrokalos sighed, rolling his eyes. "We were really upset when we first heard the news. We just sort of lost it for a while…"

Rebecca glanced down at the twins, who were staring back at her with guilty expressions: she was struck, not just by their kindness, but by their steadfast personalities. The twins would gladly bear another person's burden and take on their pain, if only to see them have a moment of satisfaction.

"You had every right to be mad: your friends must be worried sick," Rebecca sighed, averting her eyes to the floor; Percy could feel her stomach knotting up and her expression changed momentarily from one of contentment to anguish. She could feel her eyes beginning to get misty, but she was able to choke back her emotions and put on a brave face. After all, she didn't want Rebecca to feel any worse than she already did about the entire situation.

"No, they're getting along fine without us," Persephone replied simply, sugarcoating the sorrow that she and her brother were sharing. "Besides, everyone here has taken really good care of us. We just might choose to stay here for good!"

"We could definitely find a place for you!" Rebecca laughed cheerfully, a wide smile spreading across her face. "The children in the pediatric ward are usually really scared; it would be nice to have someone cute and friendly around to take their minds off of how frightening this place can be."

"I'm not going to lie," Patrokalos chuckled, looking around the room with uneasy eyes. "Percy and I have even been a little creeped out at night: the two of us just lie in my bed and stare at the ceiling for hours on end, thinking about all sorts of different things until we fall asleep."

"It gives you some time to think," Rebecca said evenly. "If there is one thing this job has taught me, it's that life is a gift. It's so fragile that it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye. While we're going about our day-to-day businesses, we take life for granted: we assume tomorrow is a certainty, but the truth is that nothing is certain in life except for death."

"Whoa, that's really deep…" Persephone murmured, wide-eyed and agape after listening to the Nurse's philosophy.

"The 'depressingly, heart-throbbingly, mind-boggling' kind of deep," Patrokalos corrected, shooting his sister a look, "but deep all the same."

"I've seen enough of death," Rebecca replied, voice trailing off momentarily as she gazed at the twins with admiration. "Really, I guess that's why I'm so thrilled that you both pulled through. You were so close to slipping away—well, you _did_ for a minute there—but you survived. You refused to let go and kept on fighting—almost as though you hadn't accomplished everything you needed to in life."

"I don't really know what I am going to do," Percy admitted. "I feel like the rug has been pulled out from underneath me and I can't catch my balance."

"Same here," Patty muttered.

"Hey, now," the woman sighed, placing a hand on their shoulders. "You'll know what to do when the time is—"

She was interrupted by the sound of the intercom.

"_Attention staff! Attention staff!"_ a female voice stated with forced calm._ "We have a code blue in progress! Repeat, we have a code blue in progress!_"

"What's going on?" Persephone asked, glancing at Rebecca inquisitively; she could instantly tell that whatever was being announced was not good because the woman blanched. A flurry of footsteps suddenly came clacking down the hallway, approaching the room with great speed, and the woman instantly gasped before getting up and bolting over to it. Patty and Percy stared in alarm when she barred it with her body, face extremely pale.

After sharing an alarmed glance, Persephone and Patrokalos quickly threw their feet over the sides of their beds and clasped hands before flinging their free arms out and summoning their swords in a spray of water; the twins took on a martial arts stance as they prepared to defend themselves and the beleaguered nurse should the situation call for it. In a flash, the door slammed open, sending Rebecca sprawling to the floor: the twins drew her fists back and spun towards the people entering the room—but they broke the slash at the last moment when Will bolted inside the room, panting heavily.

"William!" Persephone shouted, mortification overtaking her mind as she drew back. "Jesus Christ, what's going on?!"

"We could have just killed you by accident!" Patrokalos squawked, shaking his fist at the man. "You need to be careful! What's happening?!"

"I-I-I…" Will stammered incoherently, but then he wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow before slamming the door to their room; the twins looked at each other when he propped the chair near the hospital bed under the doorknob in order to keep it closed.

"Will!" Percy finally shrieked, waving her arms. "What the hell is going on?!"

"It's a code blue, guys!" Will exclaimed, whirling around with a frightened expression on his face. "The Hospital is under attack!"

"Who would attack the hospital?" Patrokalos shot back sternly, not really knowing what to think.

"A man came barging in and grabbed Dr. Andrews," Will squeaked, voice trembling. "When Dr. Andrews refused to talk, the man tried to beat the information out of him."

A prolonged hush settled over the hospital room as the twins and Rebecca remained completely silent: the sound of slow, methodical footsteps pacing down the corridor becoming more and more prominent. The hollow steps continued to draw closer before stopping directly in front of their Hospital Room: the eyes of both blondes widened in fright when the door began to shake, for the figure on the opposite side began to pummel it mercilessly. The chair that Will had propped underneath the doorknob fell to the floor as the door continued to jerk, succumbing to the unrepentant pounding. Will and Rebecca quickly shot to their feet and propped their bodies against the door, barring it in an attempt to keep whatever was on the other side out.

"You've got to get out of here, Kids!" Will shouted at the twins, voice echoing throughout the room with hot intensity. The pounding continued, and the door began to fold under the pressure. The door frame began to crumble, signaling that time was running out.

Rebecca and Will clenched their teeth, straining every muscle to keep the intruder at bay.

"Percy, Patty, _go!"_ Rebecca shrieked, her voice a vignette of desperation. The twins shook their head and slowly clasped hands, opening their mouths and arching their backs before singing a beautifully haunting melody that made the two nurses stare. The twins simultaneously closed their eyes as a torrent of blue fire exploded out of their backs and engulfed their singing forms, scaring the hell out of the two humans until the fire dissipated. When the flames dissolved, they saw that the twins were standing with a pair of frozen swords sticking out of their wrists and that their wings had appeared.

"No!" the twins stated in a dangerously calm voice, glaring up at the hospital staff with identical expressions of anger on their faces. "If you people are willing to sacrifice everything for us, we can't abandon you when you need us the most. We refuse to let you do that for our sake!"

"Guys, don't!" Rebecca cried, but it was too late: with one last, thunderous crash, the door broke from its hinges and flew across the room.

Will and Rebecca were thrown to the floor, sliding across the slick surface. Percy and Patty took a few steps forward with their hands held out cautiously, dangerously narrowing their eyes at the silhouette in the doorway. Slowly, the figure began to move into the light of the room, announcing itself. With one more step, the figure—dressed in black and orange—began to come into full view, and the eyes of both twins widened in horror.

It was Slade, with a few robots in tow.

The villain casually walked closer to the twins, eye narrowing gleefully when they stiffened and gripped each other's hands even tighter.

"Good Morning, my dear Harmony Twins. I see the details surrounding your death have been greatly exaggerated," Slade purred, making his way forward until he stood only a few inches away from the angels, who's electric blue eyes flashed around: they were completely surrounded.

"Slade, what do you want from us this time…?" Patrokalos demanded, face twisting in fearful anger as he glared up at the man.

Slade chuckled slowly, before placing both of his hands on their shoulders and shoving the twins against the wall.

"It's not what I want, my dear children," Slade replied, staring into their dilated blue eyes. "It is what I can give you."

The twins froze, awestruck and mouth agape: they stared at Slade with huge blue eyes and completely forgot about the fact that they were surrounded by a handful of Slade-bots. The twins took a few precautionary steps backward when the man stepped forward, trying to put some distance between themselves and the masked maniac; their attempts were feeble, however, as the fifth story window was their only hope for escape. The twins locked their jaws at the same time, blue eyes dilating then contracting with fear. Slade took a few steps closer, sneering when they continued backing up until they were both backed into the corner of the hospital room: Will and Rebecca watched from the floor, eyes wide with fright and worry for the twins.

"What do you _want_ from us?!" Persephone shrieked, huddling down beside her brother.

"As I have said, my dear girl," Slade replied, chuckling as he touched her face with both hands, "it is not what I want, but what I can give you…"

"Whatever you plan to say," Persephone whispered shakily, letting out an involuntary mewl when he pushed her against the wall again, "we're not interested in it, _especially_ after everything you've done to the two of us, so get your hands off me! Go crawl back into your little hole and _die!"_

Slade broke out in laughter, amused at the girl's defiance; Patrokalos sighed in relief when he let go of her. The villain had come to expect that sort of behavior from Robin over the years, but it was a _rare_ treat to provoke a similar reaction from another person—and a _girl_ no less.

"I have a feeling you will want to hear what I have to offer you," Slade said smugly. "If not, you can always be coerced: I proved that with your siblings."

Slade gestured to the Slade-bots, who emerged carrying Will and Rebecca in their clutches: the Slade-bots held Will and Rebecca by the back of the neck, their cold and unforgiving mechanical fingers digging deeply into their flesh. Will thrashed around violently, trying desperately to free himself from the grasp of the Slade-bots; his expression was a torrent of pain and misery, as the robot continually tightened its grip the more he thrashed about. Rebecca had tried resisting at first, but she had eventually succumbed to the pain and stopped: she remained motionless, jerking and twitching around from time to time in an attempt to get free. Tears were rolling freely down her cheeks.

"No!" Persephone whispered, blue eyes widening before she whipped her head to look at Slade. "Let them go, NOW!"

"Let go of them!" Patrokalos roared, blue eyes frantic. "I swear to God, Slade, if you hurt them I will kill you! I will make _sure_ you are dead this time!"

Slade laughed in reply, mocking the twins.

"I must admit that I admire the courage residing inside the two of you, but you have no leverage over me," Slade shot back, his oily voice cutting through the commotion in the room. "You will hear me out, whether you like it or not… unless you want to see your friends take a swan dive out of this window."

Percy and Patty's eyes widened before their faces began twisting up in anger, blood boiling; Adrenaline shot through their veins like liquid fire and the pain they had been feeling prior to Slade's arrival seemed like a distant memory now.

"We'll do anything you say," the twins whispered in defeat. "Just don't hurt them. They have nothing to do with this."

Slade nodded as though to signal an agreement.

"I will not harm them," Slade replied, trying to sound as honest as possible. "After all, I am not here for _them:_ I am here for you. You see, my children, I believe that you and I could benefit from a partnership. Unlike the last time, I believe that you now have no reason to deny the offer: I strengthened you with the torture you received. Had you not already been accustomed to pain, you most definitely would have perished on that cold little bridge."

Percy's eyes narrowed in contempt and her muscles began to tense up as her brother's heart started pounding: it took everything—every ounce of restraint within the souls of both twins—to hold themselves back from engulfing the masked criminal in a wall of white flames.

"Patty and I will never join you," Persephone hissed, delicate feminine soprano becoming savage and fervent. "I will never forget all of the people you've hurt, all the lives you've ruined with your schemes, and for you did to our family! I will never forgive you for the lives you've stolen out of this sick game you're playing for control. We will never allow an evil soul to rule angels such as ourselves. You, _little mortal,_ make me _sick!"_

Slade walked a few steps closer to the twins until he was within arms length; they pressed themselves into the corner with identical expressions of rage.

He chuckled to himself, knowing that he'd struck a nerve.

"Trust me when I tell you, my girl," Slade began condescendingly, "that Terra was by far the best thing that happened to me. I needed her to gain the trust of one of the Titans; after all, she needed someone's support… needed someone fighting for her reputation. That someone just happened to be the green-skinned boy that _you_, amusingly enough, also happened to fall in love with. The tiny hen and the lovesick puppy of the group."

"Bastard," Patrokalos hissed, gripping his sister's hand as their rage began to rise; at the same time, tears began to well up in Percy's blue eyes, for Slade's words resounded painfully—tearing at old wounds.

"Beast Boy was more trusting than Robin or Cyborg, and much more eager to please—so he ended up being the easiest target," Slade continued, tearing into the hearts of both twins. "You should be thanking me, children, not condemning me. I taught you a valuable life lesson: trust no one."

"You're a monster!" Patrokalos spat back, choking back his emotions.

"Then we are the same, Patrokalos… Monsters… the both of us," Slade said, his harrowing tone forcefully asserting his point.

"No! We're _nothing_ like you… NOTHING!" Persephone shrieked angrily, blood boiling as her blue eyes rippled and began glowing with yellow light. "We are angels of God, and we have no malice inside our hearts! We love humanity and have accepted the fact that everyone makes mistakes!"

"You assume that your heroism means something," Slade chuckled, driving his point home by stroking Percy's cheek. "You couldn't be more wrong, dear ones. You have saved the city and the world countless times. You have done more in two years than most people do in entire lifetimes. Yet, when the chips are down, none of that mattered. Look at you now: Broken. Tattered. Alone. Not exactly the end I would expect for a beloved hero and heroine."

"Don't... Touch... me…" Percy hissed, smacking his hand away.

"Or I'll cut... your hand off," Patrokalos spat just as viciously.

Slade laughed and walked over to the Slade-bots who were still holding Rebecca and William; the villain walked over to Rebecca and gently brushed the side of the young nurse's cheek instead of Persephone's, caressing her with his fingers. He stared at her for a moment, taking in the terrified expression on her face; the woman's eyes were bloodshot from crying and her blonde hair was disheveled.

"You did great things, Harmony Twins," Slade continued, harassing Rebecca as he spoke. "In the end, though, you are like me; monsters, freaks, and nothing more than sideshow attractions. People love you when things go as planned, when there is peace and happiness and all is right with the world. Yet, the second things go awry and everything starts falling apart, what you have in common with your fellow man will no longer matter. You see, when the chips are down, only your differences matter; that goes for the people of Jump City in general… and for your friends the Titans specifically."

Slade's words cut through the twins, leaving them feeling empty.

While Slade was a deeply twisted individual, he had a way of rationalizing his beliefs that was difficult to ignore or refute.

"You're wrong, Slade…" Percy yipped forcefully, surprising the masked villain—who figured the girl would have started giving in by now.

"Am I?" Slade asked, his tone becoming evermore arrogant and self-assured. "Look at you, child! Look at where you are! You and your brother are not in Titan's Tower, you are in an ordinary hospital surrounded by ordinary people. Your friends are nowhere in sight. The very second you became a liability, they abandoned you: you mean NOTHING to them."

Slade abruptly turned around, lunged at the twins, and grabbed both of them by the neck before they could slash at him with their swords. With little effort, Slade lifted the girl and boy up into the air and began choking the life from them. The twins beat at his fists and kicked their feet futilely, but their faces contorted when he pressed harder and started crushing their throats: they felt themselves getting lightheaded as Slade tightened his grip.

"How does it feel, children…? How does it feel to know that, in the end, your brother Robin chose me over you? The sooner you realize that your friends really aren't your friends, the better off you'll be," Slade hissed in delight; he released the twins from his clutches and carelessly dropped the blondes to the floor. The identical teenagers coughed a few times, gasping for air as they knelt on all fours; then they glanced up at Slade, glaring through their disheveled hair with murderous scorn. "This brings me to my offer, _Angels._ Are you willing to listen?"

Percy and Patty sat motionlessly on the floor, catching their breath: with all the strength they could muster, the girl and boy pulled themselves off the floor and steadied their bodies using each other as a pillar. Persephone took a deep breath and tried with all of her might to regain her composure before she shared a look with her brother; unflinchingly, the two of them stepped toward Slade with deft movements—who was taken aback by the forcefulness.

"We're listening," the twins hissed at the same time, her glowing electric blue eyes unwavering.

"Good," Slade replied with a snicker; the small group of six Slade-bots stood behind him, waiting for orders. The villain looked at his minions ponderously, then waved a hand. "One of you stay behind and keep an eye on our guests; the rest of you, guard the door. I don't want to be disturbed."

The Slade-bots all filed out the door and down the hallway toward the double-doors at the end of the hall; one stayed behind, restraining Will and Becca.

Slade eyed the small, slender girl and the tall, muscular boy who stood before him so fearlessly—wearing nothing but a floral dress and a pair of black pants that hardly did anything to cover up his grisly wounds. Something about the identical angels had changed, and it _wasn't_ just the new scars adorning their flesh; something inside the two of them had been altered in a dangerous way, but Slade couldn't really put his finger on it.

"We're waiting," Percy said impatiently, folding her arms and cocking her hip with a scowl. Slade sneered, seemingly pleased with how he had riled her.

"To be brief," Slade said, looking at the twins, "if the enemy of your enemy is your friend, I am the best friend you will ever have."


	30. Chapter 29: Enemy of my Enemy

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Enemy of My Enemy**

Robin raced down the empty streets of Jump City on the R-Cycle, heading toward the Jump City Fuel Company. As the R-Cycle sped through the quiet streets, Robin's mind remained transfixed by Slade; as he sped past countless sets of streetlights, his mind abandoned all extraneous thoughts and focused its complete attention on his nemesis.

"So it all comes to this…" Robin muttered to himself, practically spitting venom. "If it's a fight Slade wants, I'm going to give him one he'll never forget."

Robin continued to accelerate, ignoring the bitter wind mercilessly whipping him. Even through his uniform, the wind cut right through him. His hands began to tingle, starting in his fingertips before slowly working its way up through his fingers. Though the dull numbness began to settle in, Robin paid no heed. Slade was only a few blocks away, and stopping him was the highest imperative. Robin turned a sharp corner, nearly losing control of the R-Cycle, but quickly righted himself. His eyes narrowed in on his target at the end of the road: The Jump City Fuel Company.

As he sped down the road, it was as though he had tunnel vision; his unblinking eyes focused on the large, looming building, which resembled an antiquated office building more than a utilities building. It was as though all five of his senses were completely overloaded, preoccupied with his surroundings. The sound of the wind rushing by, the feel of the R-Cycle growling ferociously beneath him, the smell of the cold in the air, which chilled his body and burned his lungs with every breath. His heart began to pound faster and faster as he approached the building at the end of the road.

He pulled to the side of the road and dismounted the R-Cycle quickly and silently, and began to skulk toward the ominous building.

He crept silently across the parking lot, darting in and out of the shadows, using the nocturne as cover for his advancing movements. He knew that it was a trap; that undoubtedly, Slade would be on the inside awaiting his arrival in anticipation, however he did not want to give him any more advance warning. Robin quickly darted from the shadows to the side of the building, quickly putting his back to the wall, shuffling closer to side door. Robin's heartbeat grew evermore frantic with every step, his veins burning with adrenaline as he approached the large metal door, its handle glinting gently in the astral light.

Robin swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm his nerves.

He always felt a mixture of fear and determination whenever he went into battle, yet somehow this particular engagement was different. There was so much at stake; to fail would be to let himself, his teammates, and—by extension—the entire city, down. The frigid air whisked by once more, cooling the sweat which beaded at his brow. Robin quickly brushed it away with his free hand, as he closed his eyes for a moment, envisioning the battle ahead. It would be arduous, and undoubtedly risky, but stopping Slade was more important than any one person's safety.

Robin looked skyward.

The stars hanging in the sky were a-twinkle, burning brightly in contrast with the obsidian sky. The stars seemed to speak to him…to call out to him. As Robin peered at the enchanting sky, his words seemed to reverberate in his mind. Suddenly, Robin was overcome by a deluge of emotion: ever since the twins' Memorial, he had been able to cling to some semblance of absolution; he had seen his teammates rally around and support one another, truly coming together amidst the tragedy. Then, Slade had returned with a new threat against the city and further distracted him.

Yet now, as Robin stared at the starry sky and the benevolent moon, pangs of guilt and remorse washed over him. He could feel his stomach twisting into knots and his heart become mired down by regret; at the same time, however, he knew that he had a mission to accomplish. Robin took a few more deep breaths and choked down his emotions, at which he had become adroit, and crouched over toward the door, grasping the cold brass handle.  
Unsurprisingly, the door was unlocked; Slade was already expecting him.

Robin crept in through the door and began to venture down the dimly lit, tile hallway.

He stuck to the shadows, trying at all costs to avoid early detection. There were several doors on either side of the hallway, which appeared to be offices. Robin looked in to each office to make sure the area was clear before advancing further into enemy territory. Robin continued forward until he came to a fork in the road; one side leading toward the control room and the other leading toward the engineering room, where all of the equipment necessary to deliver natural gas to the populace were stored.

Robin's mind raced, not knowing which room Slade would be more likely to occupy.

On one hand, he could do a great deal of damage to the structure by destroying the control room, however if he incinerated the engineering room, the whole city's fuel supply would go up in smoke. In a split second decision, Robin darted toward the engineering room; he believed that Slade could do more damage to the city's infrastructure by crippling the machinery within the Jump City Fuel Company. Robin's feet gently pattered against the unforgiving tile floor as he ran, barely resounding down the empty, dimly-lit corridor. It wasn't long before he reached a set of steel double-doors, with small, rectangular windows. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment, allowing all of his uncertainty to gather, before slowly exhaling.

He reached for the door handle and gently pulled the door open, hoping to enter the engineering room as stealthily as possible; the element of surprise would be the only tactical advantage he would have, as Slade knew the location more thoroughly. Robin entered the room quickly and silently. The monotonous droning of the various machines within the room filled the air. He ventured further into the room, on edge and expecting anything, yet—to his dismay—no one was there. The engineering room was seemingly abandoned, the machines alone automating the entire process.

"Where is he?" Robin cursed to himself, pondering the whereabouts of his arch enemy; he began to search the engineering room, looking for any traces of Slade. He peered in between the towering machines and various metal pipes carrying natural gas across the building and the city, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly, a gruff voice came from above him.

"Hello, Robin… what took you so long?" the oily voice purred from the rafters. Robin took a few precautionary steps backward in response to Slade's reproach, pulling his bo-staff from his utility belt as his cautionary suspicion turned into outright contempt for his most hated enemy.

"I was wondering what rock you were hiding under, Slade," Robin shot back.

"My dear boy," Slade continued as he walked dexterously across the steel beams traversing the ceiling, hands folded behind his back as he paced casually, "If remaining hidden was my priority, you never would have found me."

"What is the point of your plan?" Robin shot back, his ubiquitous ire becoming more and more in evidence.

"Let's just say I like keeping you on your toes," Slade retorted, his tone dripping in self-satisfied smugness. "As I told you the last time we met, the fate of the Titans is already sealed. I don't have to do anything to trigger the demise of your team; I could just sit back and watch it from afar if I wanted to, but why be a spectator when you can play the game?"

Robin gritted his teeth, disgusted by the arrogance and narcissism of the masked monster pacing above him.

"You don't know what you're talking about…" Robin spat, his muscles tensing.

"Don't I?" Slade chuckled as he leapt down from the rafters above to the floor below, landing a few feet away from Robin, his expressionless mask belying his smug demeanor. "Tell me Robin, do you even feel responsible anymore?"

Robin stood tightly grasping his bo-staff preparing to strike as soon as Slade made a false move.

Slade, however, remained a safe distance away, preferring to circle around and goad Robin.

"Blame me all you want," Slade continued, contentment permeating his iniquitous tone, "But the death of the Harmony Twins is your fault alone. You and I both know that they were still alive… still breathing when you left them."

"No…" Robin hissed, heart pounding as his stomach twisted sickeningly—as though being scrambled by white-hot pokers. He began to feel the guilt he had been suppressing begin to creep up and wash over him once more, weighing down his conscious and setting his once-righteous spirit asunder.

_"Yes,_ Robin," Slade hissed deliciously, continuing to torture the Boy Wonder. "Doesn't it haunt you? Nag at you? Can you not still see the terror and devastation in Persephone's eyes as you walked away, leaving her and her brother to die? Can you not still see the crushing pain on Patrokalos' face as you left them all alone? The pain that couldn't have come from a wound? The pain of seeing you leave them just like everyone else?"

"Shut up!" Robin said meekly, trying to muster a more commanding tone but failing to build his growing anger from a whisper to a scream. He could remember the look on the faces of the twins, the newest and most jovial members the Titans had accepted; the desperation and fear practically welling over in their sparkling blue eyes as they both pleaded almost inaudibly for Robin's help, only to be denied, could very well be his undoing.

"You have tried to rid the world of me, Robin," Slade continued, voice growing evermore assertive and callous. "Yet in so many ways, you are much worse than I. At every turn you have fought to bring peace and justice to the city and the world, yet in one moment—in an instant—you have proved that the savagery of the human man is never truly eradicated… he turns on the sons and daughters of God in an instant should it suit his will."

"I said shut up!" Robin practically wailed, piercing the atmosphere of the room. "I'm nothing like you!"

"I chose you to be my apprentice for a _reason,_ Robin," Slade replied, chortling to himself. "We are cut from the same cloth, you and I. Admit it and finally set yourself free…"

Robin couldn't bear to hear another word.

He lunged at Slade and swept at the villains legs with his bo-staff. Slade simply dodged Robin's attack, jumping nimbly to the side while pulling out a staff of his own. Robin sprinted directly at Slade, swinging wildly at him with his staff, each swing backed by great force and greater rage. Slade was able to sidestep each attempted blow. Robin leapt into the air and landed a roundhouse kick to Slade side, which sent the masked criminal stumbling backwards, off-balance. Robin saw his opportunity and lunged at Slade once more, staff in hand, preparing to sweep his opponents feet from underneath him.

Robin, however, moved too slowly, and Slade stepped on the boy's bo-staff as it moved under his feet; with his free leg he kicked it from Robin's clutches. The staff clattered across the cement floor of the engineering room before rolling under a large compressor in the corner. Slade responded by backhanding Robin across the face, splitting open his lip and knocking him to the floor. Robin rolled out and away from Slade, quickly stumbling to his feet with blood trickling from his mouth. He eyed Slade as he wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth with the back of his gloved hand.

Slade simply glared at him, tossing his own staff aside since he preferred fighting Robin hand-to-hand.

"Come now, surely you can do better than that!" Slade chortled, gesturing for Robin to approach with his open palm. Robin let out a fierce growl as he rushed toward Slade, who—in turn—sprinted toward the Boy Wonder. Slade leapt into the air, attempting to deliver a blow to Robin's head; however, Robin stepped to the side and landed a few vicious body shots. Slade attacked once more as though nothing happened, this time rushing at Robin head-on. Robin retreated to the corner of the room, backing himself into it. Slade continued to rush at full speed, arms outstretched. Just prior to impact, Robin leapt into the air, hooked Slade's arms behind his back, and drove him head-first into the wall.

Slade fell to the floor, completely limp: Robin took a few steps back, unable to process what had transpired. Though the droning of the machines continued, Robin could only hear the sound of his own breathing. He panted heavily; sweat dripping from his face as he continued to stare at Slade, who remained face down on the floor of the engineering room.

"Alright Slade," Robin spat, still tired from the battle. "Enough of your games. I'm taking you in."

Robin approached Slade's limp body cautiously; Slade was never one to be taken lightly, even in an injured or weakened state. Robin grabbed Slade by the back of the collar and rolled him over. Robin's face immediately went pale as he noticed that Slade's mask was shattered into pieces revealing—not a face—but a small computer monitor. A few sparks shot from the now-disabled Slade-bot, as Robin stood frustrated, the familiar feeling of failure creeping up on him. The monitor sprang to life after a few moments, at first displaying only static, but then coming into focus, revealing an image of Slade.

"Well done, Robin," Slade chuckled, obviously amused. "I am deeply impressed. Deciphering my plan in such a short period of time was no easy task, I'm sure. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you on a job well done, but I have more urgent matters that require my undivided attention. Fear not, though, for I haven't forgotten you. You see, I knew you would come here to oppose me. When I instructed Plasmus and Overload to attack the city's water and electricity, I knew you would send your friends to confront them. I also figured that you would leave the medical sector up to another of your underlings; after all, what glory is to be had in destroying hospitals? Once again, Robin, your obsession with me has made you stale and predictable. Yet, you can still be so full of surprises."

"What...?" the boy whispered, blue eyes widening behind his mask..

"I wonder what went through the twins' minds as you walked away from them?" Slade pondered aloud. "I wonder what they thought of you in the end? Monster. Soulless. Selfish. Cruel. Savage. Traitor. Many of the same words which have been used to describe myself over the years. You pride yourself on being upstanding and doing the 'right' thing; but in the end, you will fail. You cannot run away from the truth forever, nor can you hide it from your friends. They will find out about your deception and the Titans will be no more. What will become of you then? Think of your future, Robin: consider what is best for you. Meet me tomorrow at midnight at the Jump City National Bank. Oh, and Robin…? Don't be late."

After the message was finished playing, the screen inside the Slade-bot's head went black, displaying a timer, which began counting down from thirty seconds. Robin's heart jumped into his throat as he realized that Slade planned on destroying the Jump City Fuel Company from the beginning. It was far too late to stop what was to occur; with less than 25 seconds left, Robin ran toward the exit. His heart pounded frenetically, and his lungs burned feverishly as he ran toward the exit, knowing time was running out.

Desperation and disappointment flooded his mind, buzzing around like angry hornets. He knew that there was no way for him to save the Jump City Fuel Company…he knew that he had failed his portion of the mission, letting his emotions get the better of him, and that the city would suffer as a result. Yet, as pressing as these concerns were, they were pushed to the back of his mind. Survival became his highest imperative now, as he had less than 20 seconds to escape the doomed compound.

Robin ran as fast as his feet could carry him, sprinting down the hallways, trying to make it to the nearest exit. He turned left and then quickly darted down the next corridor. At the end of the hallway he saw the set of doors he had entered through. Though he was less than a hundred feet away from the doors themselves, the hallway seemed interminable, stretching on and on. He feared that he would never make it in time.

To his immense relief, he approached the doors and threw his body against them.

Everything went black… then white.

**TXXXXXT**

Raven—encased by her dark energy—floated high above Jump City. Though the skies were still dark, dawn was quickly approaching; the blackness became noticeably less absolute giving way to the earliest vestiges of morning light. The Empath's mind raced, consumed by worry and uncertainty, as she traversed the pre-dawn sky.

_This plan is reaching further than anything else Slade's ever attempted,_ Raven thought silently to herself. She remained silent for a moment, allowing the frigid air to nip at her cheeks, and caress her exposed skin. Though she was chilled to the core by the unforgiving cold, she ignored her discomfort, deeply troubled by the situation at hand. _He's tried to destroy the Titans before, but why would he choose to target the whole city? What does he have now that he didn't have before?_

Raven hovered as the icy wind whipping her caused her eyes to water involuntarily. She looked down upon the city below as she continued to dart across the sky and couldn't help but noticing how quiet the streets of Jump City were; during the day, there were thousands of people filing through the streets, going about their daily lives. Similarly, those same people were asleep in their beds, unaware of the devious plot which threatened their city.

Raven fixed her gaze on the rooftops below, scanning the area.

After thoroughly searching Jump City Memorial Hospital, she was heading to Jump City General, which was located in the heart of the metropolitan area. With so many buildings located in such a small area, pinpointing one exact location was no easy task. Raven's mind became a maelstrom of swirling thoughts, all of which caused her stomach to twist into knots. With time running out, and two locations left to sweep, a lot of pressure lay squarely on her shoulders. Though she was more than capable of handling the situation, her mind couldn't help but drift back to that night.

"The Titans are counting on me," Raven said to herself as she approached Jump City Memorial Hospital. "The city is counting on me."

She began her descent down to the rooftop of Jump City Memorial, gently setting her feet on the concrete surface. She walked toward the roof access door, preparing to sweep Jump City Memorial just as she had swept Jump City General, looking for any combustive devices. As a blustery gust of wind cut through her, she stopped dead in her tracks for but a moment, a nagging thought gnawing at her conscious like termites gorging on wood.

"The twins were counting on me that night… and I let them down when they needed me to be strong. When they needed me the most, I couldn't help them at all," Raven said to herself, deadpan tone filling with sorrow. She looked out on the horizon for a moment, noticing that the light of the moon was being replaced gradually by the light peering over the horizon. "I just hope I don't fail Jump City the way I failed the people who were closest to me."

The warmth from the inside of the hospital kissed Raven's cheeks and washed over her, seemingly enveloping her body. She walked down a set of stairs from the roof access door and trudged down a long, sterile corridor, lit by iridescent lights. She passed through the subdued halls, her mind still racing; she knew that there wasn't a lot of time to waste since as daylight was quickly approaching. As she walked down the hallway, she peered up at the directory signs hanging from the ceiling, looking for the Administrator's Office; getting permission from Jump City Memorial's higher-ups would be pivotal in conducting a thorough and efficient search of the premises.

As Raven headed toward the Administrator's Office, she could feel a tremor rumble from beneath her, causing her to stumble a bit before regaining her balance: her heart practically stopped as the breath she took in practically died within her.

Her eyes widened as Robin's face flashed into her mind.

"No… it can't be…" Raven said to herself, stunned and in disbelief; after a moment, she quickly pulled out her communicator and flipped it open. "Raven to Titans, come in, over."

Raven stood with bated breath, holding her communicator as only static came across the line, hissing and popping radically.

Suddenly, an image appeared across the screen of Raven's communicator; it was Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Raven, what's going on?" Cyborg asked, mirroring Raven's nervous desperation.

"I don't know…" Raven replied earnestly, voice trembling with uncertainty. "Did you feel that tremor…? It was like—"

"—an explosion." Cyborg interrupted, completing Raven's sentence. "It's not the Power Authority. B.B. and I took care of Overload and he's in police custody now. What about you?"

"I swept Jump City General, and I am currently inside Jump City Memorial," Raven replied, voice saturated in penitence; suddenly, her communicator chimed once again, signaling an incoming message. The screen, which had displayed both Cyborg and the changeling, went blank for a moment before splitting into three, now revealing both Cyborg, Beast Boy, _and_ Starfire. Starfire appeared rather disheveled; her face was besmirched with dirt, and she was covered with several cuts and scrapes. Encrusted dried blood surrounded each of her superficial flesh wounds.

"Friends," Starfire said, her voice and expression swimming with concern. "What is going on?"

"There's been an explosion somewhere in the downtown area, Star," Cyborg said, his voice sounding more and more assertive by the second, "Raven and I both felt the aftershock. What about you?"

"I felt… something," Starfire said gravely. "What location was the target of the explosion?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out…" Raven stated plainly, trying to restrain her emotions; the uncertainty of the situation sent a cold shiver up her spine, cutting her to the core. "What happened at the Water Filtration Facility?"

"I kicked the butt of Plasmus!" Starfire exclaimed gleefully, managing to give them a self-satisfied grin. "Very little damage was done to the structure."

"Good Job, Star," Beast Boy laughed, trying his best to sound encouraging despite the dark cloud of concern looming overhead. "That leaves Jump City Medical Center and the Jump City Fuel Company as the potential demolition sites. Star, I want you to fly to the Fuel Company and check on Robin. I will meet you there as soon as I can."

"I understand." Starfire said assuredly, her concern now turning from the city as a whole to Robin specifically, as he had failed to check in. "I will be there shortly."

With that, the side of the screen Starfire had appeared on faded to black before disappearing completely, allowing Cyborg and Beast Boy to consume the entire screen once more.

"Raven," Cyborg ordered with authority, "I need you to go check out what's going on at JCMC."

"What do you think is going on, Cyborg?" Raven asked, each of her concerns beginning to run together, forming a veritable sea of madness. Her violet eyes widened, making the rest of her face seem increasingly dark and desolate by comparison.

"I'm concerned about Robin," Cyborg replied. "He didn't check in with us, so I suspect he was either involved in the explosion or preoccupied with Slade, and either way he could use a hand. I have a feeling that Slade will be far away from where the explosion took place. If JCMC was spared, I would be on the lookout for Slade; he probably figures he can lay low there for a little while."

"Alright," Raven muttered, mind racing in a million directions all at once. "I'm on my way to Jump City Medical Center right now. Raven Out."

Raven flipped her communicator shut and put it away. Her stomach continued turning nervously; she could not help but feel that—one way or another—she was only going to find devastation and heartache upon her arrival at Jump City Medical Center. Raven took a moment and tried desperately to clear her mind and calm her frazzled nerves. She breathed in deeply and held her breath until her lungs felt as though they would burst, before slowly releasing it. As she prepared to draw another breath, her eyes burned white and she encased herself in her dark energy.

A moment later, an obsidian figure darted with across the slowly-brightening sky. The earliest traces of morning light were beginning to assert themselves, driving away the pooling darkness steadily and methodically. The dark figure careened through the air at a break-neck speed, hurling itself toward the metropolitan area without regard. In a quick movement, the opaque form crested in the sky before diving toward the ground below; the blackened form—which resembled a bird—darted from the sky and phased into the asphalt below, slowly rising from beneath the surface of the earth.

As the form rose completely from the asphalt, standing before Jump City Medical Center, the dark energy enveloping it dissipated.

Raven stood before the Jump City Medical Center with a sense of relief and nervous anticipation: on one hand, she was thankful that the hospital was still standing in one piece; she never would have been able to forgive herself if it had been destroyed on her watch. Another part of her, however, brimmed with woe; more than likely, Slade was nearby. With the others preoccupied, trying to limit the damage caused by Slade's plan, she would have to face the masked menace on her own. Raven lifted herself from the ground and made a beeline for the front entrance of the hospital.

At a first glance, everything appeared normal; however the pale girl could sense that something was amiss.

The emotions emanating from the hospital were thick and palpable, so much that it was almost like she was being asphyxiated by them. Fear and terror were radiating from the building, sending chills throughout her body; with every step she took, the emotions became stronger and more pronounced, like a force weighing her down and driving her back. It took every ounce of her strength to forge forward, knowing that the city and her teammates were counting on her to prevent tragedy from befalling the hospital. Then she realized something and squinted: a black mist had surrounded the building

She was seeing emotional pain once again... and for some reason, it looked extremely familiar.

Raven winced and cringed, grimacing as she entered the hospital: a maelstrom of horrid emotions began gnawing away at her, literally lifting her hair back like a breeze and making her heart and head pound. To Raven, feeling this much emotional agony was like being struck continually in the ribs: each breath she took in became increasingly laborious. Raven cautiously approached the front desk of the hospital, desperately trying to find her center amidst the torrent of cacophonous sentiments; oddly enough, she found the front desk unattended. The phone was ringing incessantly while multiple lights on it blinked, signaling that multiple calls were on hold. Raven walked around to the other side of the desk, as the phone continued to ring off the hook. She noticed a half-filled coffee cup next to the phone.

She placed her hand on the outside of the mug, noticing that it was ice-cold.

Raven's eyes narrowed: no one had been in the room for a while.

She looked at the desk quizzically, wondering where everyone was... and why it appeared as though they had left so abruptly.

Raven levitated and quickly scanned the first floor reception area, and the waiting area; she made haste, flying toward the waiting area. Much to her chagrin, no one was present: her heart began to beat evermore rapidly because everything appeared normal, even if the all-pervading silence seemed to suggest otherwise. The stone silence of the waiting area chilled Raven; it was as though everyone had just disappeared. There were no signs of a struggle and everything was in its place, from the stacks of old magazines to the fake decorative plants sitting on the wooden end-tables. The orderly state of the waiting area greatly worried Raven. If she had entered the room and found it disheveled and in disarray, at least she would have a clue on what was actually happening in the hospital. As of now, she had absolutely no leads... yet she knew something was amiss.

Raven scoured the entire first floor, only to find that it had been abandoned completely.

Only the hum of the ventilation system recycling the air and the distant sound of the telephone from the front desk noisily bleating shattered the established stillness. Raven quickly whirled around and turned back toward the front desk, walking behind the desk nonchalantly, knowing full well that there was no one around to chide her for her brazenness. She rifled through some papers that were taped to the surface of the desk and quickly scanned the various pages until she found one which was particularly useful; a diagram of the layout of Jump City Medical Center.

She stood in deep rumination for a moment, studying the diagram.

She took note that the hospital itself had seven stories: The first which housed the Primary Emergency Room; the second, third, and fourth which were set aside for Cardiology and Respiratory Services; Pediatrics, Prenatal Care, and Maternity; and Orthopedics, respectfully; the fifth floor housed the Intensive Care Unit, and offices; the sixth floor was the Physical therapy and rehabilitation wing, which also house long-term patients, and the seventh floor was the Second Emergency Room, Specialized Surgery, and storage.

Raven looked at the diagram in a blank stare.

She quickly deduced that the best course of action would be a floor-by-floor sweep of the hospital; she did not want to skip any floors, potentially overlooking people who could assist her in ensuring the hospital's security. Without wasting a moment, Raven engulfed herself in dark energy and surged upward, through the ceiling. In the blink of an eye, she emerged on the second floor; Raven instantly fell to her knees, overcome by a sea of emotions.

Her eyes went blank when she saw the pain swirling around in thick tendrils.

Raven felt as though someone were laying heavy stones upon her chest, stones which were slowly crushingher to death. Out of panic, she began to breathe in and out very quickly, feeling as though she was hyperventilating: her head began to pound, almost as though someone was putting pressure on her temples; the incandescent lights above intensified the agonizing pain in her cranium. The room seemed to be spinning, and all at once, Raven felt as though she was going to vomit: with a popping noise, every glass object within a ten meter radius exploded in a shimmering cloud.

"Azarath… Metrion… Xinthos…" Raven chanted to herself, just above a whisper. "Azarath… Metrion… Xinthos…"

It took all of Raven's fortitude to focus her energy on regaining her emotional accord.

Even when she did, she remained on her knees for a moment more, staring at the white tile floor, sweat dripping from her brow. She took a few more deep breaths, choking down the fluttering in her stomach before slowly rising to her feet. She stood motionlessly, trying to make sense of what had happened. It was rare for her to ever be so overcome by the external emotions of others. The emotions which surrounded her and permeated the hospital were so strong and vast in quantity, that even one with great experience and discipline in dealing with them found it an insurmountable task.

Raven steadied herself and concentrated.

As she did, she heard something from the other side of the building…voices.

Raven swallowed hard, as she knew she would have to approach them—venturing further into the whirlwind of sentiments—in order to discern what was taking place in the Jump City Medical Center. Raven took a deep breath and began to walk toward the sound of the disembodied voices. She trudged along slowly—arduously—almost as though she was wearing cement shoes. With every step she took, the emotional tension grew stronger.

It took every ounce of Raven's strength to forge ahead.

As Raven turned a corner, she paused for a moment to catch her breath, putting her back against the wall and her hands on her knees, propping herself up. She felt as though she had just run a marathon, and though she was exhausted, she remained undeterred. After a brief respite, Raven began to move toward the voices once again. They were becoming perceptibly louder now. Though she could still not quite make out what they were saying, the intonation mirrored the overwhelming sentiments hanging thickly in the air: terror, fear, and woe. With all the strength she could muster, Raven levitated and quickly shot off in the direction of the frantic, dissonant cries, though it greatly pained her to do so. As Raven rounded several more corners, weaving her way through that labyrinth of corridors, she finally came upon clusters of people.

Raven descended slowly, gently placing her feet back on the white tile floor.

Raven looked at all of the people rushing about in a frenzy and noticed that the majority of them were wearing scrubs or lab coats. Many were rushing back and forth with various and sundry tools or pieces of equipment: Two assistants were bringing out an orange stretcher, a nurse was prepping an intravenous line, and a resident fastidiously rolled a gurney down the hallway. Raven walked closer to the group of hospital employees, but did so gingerly, as the waves of caustic emotions were radiating from them, making her feel queasy once more.

At first, she didn't understand why a group of medical professionals would be behaving so strangely in the midst of a crisis, as they handled stressful situations on a daily basis. It wasn't until she inched closer that she saw what was provoking the anarchy; a man, in his middle forties, wearing a bloodied lab coat and ripped khakis lying on the floor, arms twisted at awkward angles with blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.

The assistants carrying the orange stretcher laid it down next to the motionless body on the floor.

Without wasting a second, the two gently lifted the man onto the stretcher, and with the help of an orderly and the resident who had wheeled the gurney down the hall, the two men lifted the man on the orange stretcher onto the gurney. Like a well-oiled machine, the team began to wheel the gurney down the hall, and into an open room. A small enclave of nurses and assistants trailed behind, wheeling a ventilator, intravenous line, and an electrocardiograph machine into the room. In a moment's time, the prevailing chaos had dispersed, and the hallway which had been bustling—teeming with people—was now practically deserted except for a few stragglers, one of whom remained on his knees coated in blood, staring at the floor in disbelief.

Raven approached him slowly.

She could feel uncertainty wafting from the man, and could tell by his expression that he was greatly troubled. She stood before him, trying to get his attention, but could see that he was staring at the ground, unblinking, practically catatonic. Raven gently placed her hand on his shoulder, rousing him from his sleepless reverie; he jolted at first, quickly turning his head.

"What happened here?" Raven asked inquisitively, staring into the man's fear-laden eyes; the man remained on his knees, blood coating his scrubs. His weathered face seemed to grow older and more sullen as he stared at the Empath. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself, but found himself tripping over his tongue as he attempted to speak. Each time he drew a breath, it was as though someone stole his words before he had the opportunity to utter them. Out of frustration, he cupped his face in his hands, digging his fingernails roughly into his scalp.

"Calm down," Raven said gently, trying to assuage him, "How about we just start with your name and go from there?"

The man looked up at Raven unflinchingly; it was evident he had seen his share of iniquity. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, holding it for a moment, before releasing it in a staggered exhale. Afterwards, his eyes darted open with newfound vigor.

"M-mark…" the man stammered softly. "M-my name is Mark."

"Good," Raven replied earnestly, her voice swimming in uncharacteristic sweetness, "I'm Raven. I'm here to help, but in order to help, I need to know what's going on. What happened?"

Mark took a few more deep breaths and valiantly wrestled himself from the shock that was setting in. He looked at the sorceress standing before him, violet eyes unwavering despite the surrounding turmoil. He chastised himself for his weakness and drew strength from her steely gaze; Mark slowly rose to his feet, standing eye-to-eye with Raven.

"I was doing my rounds, checking up on my patients." Mark began, his voice still shaking from adrenaline, "It was just like any other average, normal night. When all of the sudden, there was all of this commotion… from downstairs. The receptionists were yelling, people were screaming, and then all I heard was rumbling… like a group of people trampling up the stairs. I came out of the room I was in to see what was going on, when I saw a group of about six or seven men come rushing up the stairs. They wore all black, and were wearing these black and tan or bronze masks over their faces."

Raven's eyes narrowed as she now knew what she was up against.

"What else can you tell me?" Raven demanded, as her voice became more authoritative. "There has to be more!"

"They were so fast… and they were organized," Mark continued, his eyes widening, "They moved down the hall toward Cardiology. That's when they grabbed him."

"Who?" Raven asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Doctor Andrews." Mark replied sheepishly, his eyes filling with tears once more, "Dr. Andrews is our Head of Staff; he is a renowned expert in Cardiology and Respiratory Medicine. He is also one of the most gifted surgeons I have ever met."

"Why did they grab him?" Raven remarked inquisitively. "What could they possibly hope to gain from a medical professional?"

"I don't know." Mark replied, his thumb and forefinger wiping away the tears in his eyes roughly, as though he was punishing himself. "One of the goons grabbed Dr. Andrews and started beating on him; a bunch of the hospital staff tried to stop him, but he took Dr. Andrews into a room while the others stood guard. For the better part of an hour they tortured him… beat him… when the man emerged from the room, he tossed Dr. A aside like a sack of potatoes and ordered his men to go up to the fifth floor."

"What's on the fifth floor?" Raven asked directly, knowing that—whatever Slade was after—was close at hand.

"The fifth floor is just the Intensive Care Unit and a few offices," Mark replied, perplexedly, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't know what they _are_ after, but whatever it is, it must be valuable to them."

"What else?" Raven asked, her mind racing from all of the information Mark had given her.

"That's about… it." Mark replied, starting to get upset once again. "I had my assistant call a 'code blue' over the public address system and ran to help Dr. A; that man really did a number on him… I'm not sure if he is going to make it or not."

"Do you think he's still on the fifth floor?" Raven asked, her voice becoming raspier by the moment.

"I know he is," Mark shot back, resolved. "I can hear them up there thumping around. I can have security block the stairwells and shut down the elevators, that way the only way out of the hospital is off of the roof."

"Do it." Raven replied tersely, as she flipped her hood up to obscure her face, "I am going to put an end to this."

Raven turned and began to encase herself in her dark energy; as she lifted off of the ground, she could hear Mark's voice once more.

"Raven!" Mark exclaimed, his timbre resounding strongly throughout the halls. Raven turned, still enveloped in her energy, rising up toward the ceiling once more. She looked at Mark, her eyes burning white.

"Be careful…" Mark said prudently, "and make him pay…"

Raven said nothing, but instead phased through the ceiling, preparing to face Slade and whatever else awaited her on the fifth floor…


	31. Chapter 30: All Falling Down

**Chapter Thirty: All Falling Down**

Raven enveloped herself in her empathic energy and quickly passed through multiple floors of the Jump City Medical Center until she reached the fifth floor. As she set her feet on the white tile below, she could feel her knees wobble weakly beneath her; maintaining her focus amidst the cavalcade of astringent emotions took a great deal of her strength, and she was feeling weaker by the moment. Raven dug down deep within and found the determination and fortitude to keep moving.

She knew that Slade was close, and it was up to her to put an end to his treachery.

Raven glided through the corridors of the fifth floor.

The hospital was a maze of hallways, making it difficult for her to quickly pinpoint Slade's exact location. She stood still for a moment and closed her eyes, concentrating on locating where Slade was hiding. After a few moments, Raven could feel a strong, malevolent aura radiating from further down the hall. She pressed forward, sticking close to the wall to avoid detection. As she pressed on, the aura became stronger and more imposing, making her feel nauseous once more. As she came to the final corner, she pressed her back against the wall and closed her eyes.

She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly.

"Azarath… Metrion… Xanthus…" Raven whispered evenly. Her soul-self emerged from her body and quickly sank into the neighboring wall, on the lookout for any possible traps. After a few moments, Raven's body was bathed in obsidian light and her eyes darted open. "Slade-bots… Five of them are jus standing there, waiting. Slade is definitely behind those double-doors up ahead… but what's he after?"

Raven concentrated harder, this time doing an empathic scan of the area. The most overwhelming presence was that of Slade; a foreboding, dubious cloud seemed to linger overhead. Raven gritted her teeth, focusing harder; as she did, she was immediately overwhelmed by outpourings of fear from two other individuals. Reluctantly, Raven pushed herself even further... but as she did, she felt two more auras that seemed to explode with emotional agony the moment she touched them with her soul-self. Two identical auras that felt incredibly pure and almost _sickeningly_ familiar to her injured heart.

Raven's violet eyes snapped open immediately and sweat poured from her brow as she panted from exhaustion.

"No," Raven whispered, breathing hard as she wiped sweat from her face. "It can't be…"

As Raven stood up, she felt dead on her feet.

She had absolutely no strength left within her, yet she knew she needed to press forward. Though she was thoroughly exhausted and similarly perplexed by Slade's plan, she knew time was of the essence. Raven quickly bolted out from behind the corner and enveloped the first Slade-bot in her negative energy, forcefully slamming it against the wall. The impact broke the robot into several pieces, sending twisted chunks of metal flying through the air and circuit boards crumbling onto the tile floor. Taking note, the remaining four Slade-bots drew their blasters and began firing at her; the empath created a telekinetic shield with her dark energy and pressed on.

Raven could feel her strength waning as she continued to defend herself against the barrage of blasters taking aim at her. The Slade-bots were relentless in their onslaught, and had her outnumbered four-to-one. Raven knew that she had to make a move or risk simply deflecting their attacks until her strength depleted completely. In an instant, Raven chanted her mantra and encased herself completely in negative energy. Suddenly, two dark tendrils shot from the energy surrounding the Empath, impaling two of the Slade-bots, who fell instantly to the floor, sparks billowing from their wounds. The two remaining Slade-bots continued to fire on Raven, who was forced to draw up her shield once more. One of the Slade-bots got a running start and barreled toward Raven full-force; she turned her dark shield toward the rampaging robot in an attempt to stave it off, but was overcome. The Slade-bot charged through Raven's shield of energy and slammed the sorceress into a wall, leaving a sizable hole in the drywall.

Raven's eyes closed for a moment, and when she opened them she saw both Slade-bots take aim at her.

She also saw two identical blondes staring out of a doorway with expressions of horror on their faces.

"No…" Raven squeaked, voice trembling and eyes widening as their faces burned into her mind; it wasn't possible! They were dead! They had died!

"R-RAVEN!" Patrokalos cried, hand flinching out to her; it was only then that she realized she had forgotten the enemy. "GET AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND, YOU FUCKERS!"

Sharp pains rocked the girl's body as the Slade-bots fired a second later, hitting the pale girl in the abdomen.

Raven fell limply to the floor in a crumpled heap.

**TXXXXXT**

Persephone stood at her full height of four feet and eight inches as she squeezed her brother's shaking hand: both of them were eying Slade, who was pacing back and forth with arrogant movements. His steps resounded sharply within the tattered hospital room, and the area was bathed in a florescent light so bright and intense that it stung the twins' eyes.

Patrokalos looked to the corner of the room at the robot standing motionlessly, restraining Rebecca and Will. His heart began to beat like a trip-hammer and his mind began to race, consumed with worry; the last thing he wanted was for them to suffer because of Slade. The villain walked back and forth a few more times, sizing up the two blondes before clearing his throat and approaching them.

"As I have said, Harmony Twins," Slade remarked condescendingly, oily voice filling the small room, "if the enemy of your enemy is your friend, I will be the greatest friend you will ever have."

"I may not be the smartest girl in the world," Persephone stated icily, tensing slightly when he came near, "but I'm not stupid. My brother and I already know that this is just another one of your tricks; what are _you_ hoping to get out of this?"

Slade chuckled softly, mocking the girl's scathing retort.

"You mistake my proposal for a self-serving plot," Slade jeered. "I can assure you that I have nothing but your best interests at heart."

"Why do you care about what happens to us?" Patrokalos hissed, balling his fists in rage as his blonde hair began to ripple in the wind that rapidly began swirling around both him and his twin sister.

"Because, my dear boy," Slade replied smoothly, "your so-called friends clearly do not care about your well-being."

"Our friends made a mistake," Patrokalos retorted, glaring as the winds lessened slightly. "Anyone can make a mistake…"

"Yes, but a _real_ friend would have admitted it already and would have at least attempted to make amends," Slade shouted loudly, practically erupting with rage since his plan wasn't working. "You were left to die! All in the name of Robin's prideful obsession with me! Surely the two of you must harbor some sort of bitterness toward him!"

The twins shared a slowly look as their minds became clouded with confusion once more: the two of them had been talking to each other a lot during their stay at the hospital in order to rationalize their plight, yet—despite this fact—the two of them had been unable to reach any sort of absolution regarding their predicament. Persephone sighed heavily and stared at her brother while he was taking a moment to collect himself.

"We… would be lying if either of us said that we've forgiven Robin for what he did to me," Persephone stated in a low voice. "I want for us to just move on with our lives, but something keeps driving us back."

"That 'something'," Slade retorted, "is _unfinished business._ You have sacrificed more than most people can imagine keeping the city safe. In the end though, you ended up alone… just like always."

Slade's words cut through the twins worse than before: Patrokalos lifted his head and stared at Slade with fire in his expression, while his sister merely stared at the floor with tears in her eyes. Only a moment later, however, all emotion washed from the faces of both twins and their normally soft features were replaced with something else: their glowing yellow eyes unexpectedly sparkled with a different color and swam with a noticeable, steely rage.

"It is certainly not easy to go it alone," Slade continued, trying to persuade the twins. "Life is difficult and there is little reason to make it more trying than it needs to be. You see, Little Angels, I see great potential within you. This is why I chose the two of you to be my apprentices: you are survivors. You won't allow any form of change to consume you, and instead you _adapt_ to it. You are strong, resilient, and cunning…"

"Don't make me blush, you bastard…" Persephone cooed sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at him with a glare.

"_Nice _doesn't look good on you," Patrokalos added flatly, mirroring his sister's expression and sticking his own tongue out.

Slade stumbled on his words for a moment, taken aback by their blunt abrasiveness.

"Well, then," Slade continued, "Allow me to get to the point. I believe that a partnership would be mutually beneficial to all three of of us. You are isolated and ostracized superheroes without a team, and I am a man with a vision—along with the ambition—to turn my dream into a reality."

"Why us?" Persephone scoffed in a disbelieving tone, yellow eyes rippling like water. "If you haven't noticed, I'm a girl with four feet, six inches, and seventy-seven pounds to her name! I'm clumsy, I'm lazy, and I hate being told what to do! My brother's a bit bigger, and sure, we're the descendants of two gods, and we both have incredible control over the world around us—but there are _plenty_ of scum lining the streets of Jump City; there are _plenty_ of villains who would _love_ to be a part of your plan. So, why do you want the two of us, out of all the people with powers in the world?"

Slade simply chuckled and walked up to the twins, planting his hands on their slender shoulders.

The two of them recoiled at first, but Slade merely held his grip down more firmly: it was easy holding them in place.

"As I said," Slade elaborated, bringing his face close to theirs, "I see great potential in the two of you. Of all of the Titans—with the exception of your sister, Terra—you have come the closest to wounding me physically. That day at the House of Mirrors, after Terra betrayed you all again… the two of you were simply breathtaking. You actually bestowed _fear_ upon me: I was happy that I didn't make that appearance in person because of how easily you handled the android I sent to confront the titans. You would have smashed my face in. That was the night I realized I had been underestimating you."

"So… why now?" Patrokalos snapped, wrenching himself from Slade's grasp and batting his hand of Percy. "If you were so interested, why did you wait?"

"Timing is everything, Angel," Slade replied coldly, looking into the boy's blue eyes. "Robin erred greatly that night on the Jump City Bridge. I am merely seeking to make things right… to benefit from his mistake… and to give you a chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself."

"What are you _talking_ about?!" Persephone finally shrieked, tossing her long hair and drawing her lips back angrily—growing increasingly impatient with Slade's profound, cryptic responses. The man once again brought his face an inch from hers: his eye seemed to be ablaze with excitement, almost as though he was the keeper of a great secret yet to be unleashed upon the world.

"A few moments ago, I spoke of my vision," Slade said, his timbre growing more fervent and lively as he went on. "I merely want you to be a part of it. As they say, teamwork divides the task at hand and multiplies the opportunity for success. Together, you and I could change this city: tear it down and rebuild it as we see fit. United, no one could oppose us: we could be the masters of all before us, and you would be my queen."

Percy stared at Slade with disturbed blue eyes, who returned her gaze. The girl looked into Slade's eye, seeing nothing but dishonesty lying therein; she closed her eyes for a moment, lost in the whirlwind of thoughts careening through her mind. She knew the kind of man that Slade was. She knew that no good could come from a partnership with him, regardless of the logic he used to rationalize it. Yet, deep down, a part of her was yearning to join Slade.

"Percy, Patty, don't do it!" Will hollered painfully, still in the clutches of the Slade-bot, squirming to get free, "Please, don't listen to him! Whatever he's offering you he'll never deliver!"

Slade whirled around to face Will, who gritted his teeth in pain as the Slade-bot continued to tighten its vice-like grip on the back of his neck. In an instant, Slade backhanded the doctor across the face, breaking his nose. Blood streamed from Will's face and splattered on a nearby wall. Will winced in pain for a second before fixing his gaze on Slade, spitting blood in his direction.

"I think it would be best if you minded your own business!" Slade muttered angrily.

"If you touch either of them again…" Persephone stated, voice coming out with such icy calm that it sent chills down the spines of everyone in the room.

"...then you won't have to _worry_ about the future because your life will end right here," Patrokalos finished in the same tone of voice.

Slade turned around and faced the twins, who stood menacingly with murderous intent in their glowing yellow eyes; he feigned apathy, yet inside he could feel something rising within him… a pulsing, nagging, dull sensation… an emotion he wasn't accustomed to.

Fear.

"Your little friends don't concern me," Slade replied icily. "Only your decision does. I realize that I have given you much to think about—"

Slade was cut off by the sound of a great commotion emanating from down the hall; cacophony of metal twisting, circuit-boards snapping, and blasters firing filled the air. The twins frowned in confusion and Slade's eyes narrowed in contempt; he knew he was running out of time.

"It's time for me to take my leave," Slade said demurely, turning toward the door. "You have until midnight to make up your minds, little Angels. Meet me at the Jump City National Bank; make sure you arrive on time. I don't like to be kept waiting."

As Slade rushed out of the room, the Slade-bot restraining Will and Rebecca tossed them roughly to the ground and followed Slade out of the hospital room. The twins quickly let her powers fade and rushed to their side, shivering as their wings dissolved.

"Are you guys okay?" Percy asked in a mewling whine, touching their faces.

"How badly did he hurt you?" Patty asked, kneeling beside his sister; will writhed for a moment, his face twisting and contorting from the pain. He gritted his teeth before he grabbed his nose with his thumb and forefinger, and with a jolt he snapped it back into alignment. A dry, popping sound resonated hollowly, causing Will to grunt in pain as the two females winced in disgust. Patrokalos merely winced and swallowed, face pale and eyes large.

"My neck is a little sore," Rebecca replied earnestly rubbing her neck with her hand, "but other than that, I am okay. Are you okay, Will?"

"I'm no worse for wear," Will replied gruffly. "I wonder if the swelling will give me the 'bad-boy-tough-guy' look I've always been going for."

"Sheesh, what do we do now?" Rebecca snorted with a roll of her eyes; it was just like William to crack a joke, even after a life-threatening experience.

Rebecca and Will both turned to look at the twins, who stared back at them with fire in their glittering blue eyes.

"We can't stay here," Persephone said assertively. "I don't want anyone in the hospital to get hurt because of us. We need to think of a place to go where Slade won't think to look."

Rebecca and Will exchanged ponderous glances, trying to come up with a sensible solution to the current situation.

In an instant, Will's eyes lit up.

"My brother is out of town and I'm watching his place for him!" Will replied cogently. "We can stay there!"

"Good," Patrokalos sighed, nodding in agreement. "Now I need you two to stay here. I'll take care of whatever is outside."

As the twins prepared to head for the door, Rebecca grabbed their arms and held them back.

"Don't go!" Rebecca pleaded, trying to reason with the blondes. "It's too dangerous and you're not fully healed yet!"

"I'll be alright, Becca. I'm a tough little cookie and my brother is just as scary," Percy said reassuringly, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Anyway, if we don't face what's out there and put a stop to it, someone could get hurt."

Plus, if we get banged up again," Patty added, cracking a smile and revealing his glittering fangs, "you can always nurse me back to health."

So saying, the twins gently pulled their arms away from the nurse and walked slowly to the door of her hospital room.

However, the twins peered down the hallway just in time to see the Slade-bots firing on their target. Patty looked at the cloaked figure on the floor… the dark blue hood and cape… the pale complexion. Immediately, the boy's blood began to boil and his flashed with light before they began to glow red; his breathing became heavier, each breath getting progressively deeper.

"RAVEN!" Patrokalos finally roared, eyes flashing with red light. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND, YOU FUCKERS!"

With furious war cries, the twins charged and slung their arms out with sharp musical notes: electrified fire exploded from their wrists and took the form of burning lightning blades as they sprinted at the Slade-bots—who quickly withdrew their attention from the injured sorceress. Before the first robot could raise its blaster, Patrokalos gripped his sister's wrist and threw her over his head using the momentum from his run: the girl spun around like lightning in the air and sliced off two mechanical heads that went flying. The second android raised its blaster and began firing at the girl, but Percy dodged the bullets by flipping like a gymnast—nimbly dodging all of the shots fired in her direction as she twisted her body with the flexibility of a cat.

Before the second Slade-bot had time to react, Patrokalos drove his sword into the robot's chest and slammed it into the wall a few feet away from where Raven was lying motionlessly on the floor. Sparks flew as the blonde boy stabbed the android into the wall repeatedly, arms moving so quickly that they were unseen by the human eye since he wasn't willing to take any chances. After demolishing the second Slade-bot, the twins ran to Raven's side.

"WILL! REBECCA! I NEED YOUR HELP! HELP ME, PLEASE!" Patrokalos shouted.

The pair quickly ran out of the room and hurried to their side, taking note of the injured Empath lying on the floor. Rebecca and Will wasted no time checking Raven's vital signs: Percy had tears streaming down her cheeks as she clasped Raven's hand in hers, and Patrokalos was shaking with fright. His broad shoulders were stiff as he touched the pale girl's face, eyes full of love that made his twin stare in amazement.

After a moment, Will looked at the two of them with reassuring eyes.

"She's going to be alright," he said candidly. "Her wound isn't life-threatening. Right now, she's just unconscious."

"Is it safe to move her?" Percy asked tearfully, rubbing her eyes when Patty sighed in relief. "I'm not leaving my sister behind."

"Percy…" Will replied softly, "It's not a good idea to move—"

"LISTEN!" Patrokalos roared, eyes flashing to yellow in an instant; both of the adults froze in an instant, looking alarmed when the boy glared. "She is coming with us. Bring whatever supplies you need, but I'm not leaving her here."

Will didn't even need to look into the boy's eyes to see that he was resolute; the man averted his gaze to Rebecca and nodded in her direction. With that, the nurse rose from the ground and ran down to the end of the hallway.

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Will asked, placing his hand gently on the Patty's shoulder.

"I love her," the blonde boy said simply, staring at the girl's face while his sister nodded; a few moments later, Rebecca emerged with a large black duffel bag slung across her shoulder and a long, white lab coat. As she ran down the hallway, William and the twins got to their feet.

"I got everything we need." Rebecca said, trying not to look directly them; she tossed the long, white lab coat to Patty. "You might wanna put that on since you're a little… _exposed_ to be in public."

"Yeah…" Patrokalos replied, face turning beet red as he put the coat on and buttoned it up.

"Let's go," Will said firmly; Patrokalos knelt down and lifted Raven's unconscious form onto his back with Persephone's help.

"Lead the way…" Percy stated once the girl was in place; William and Rebecca darted down the hallway, followed slowly by the twins—who carefully maneuvered their way through the corridors with Raven in tow.


	32. Chapter 31: Terror Incarnate

**Chapter Thirty-One: Terror Incarnate**

Robin slowly opened his eyes, squinting as he attempted to adjust to the bright incandescent lights overhead. He sat up quickly, heart thumping madly within his chest. His mind raced, filled with fear, since he didn't know where he was; he panted heavily as a dull, rolling pain settled deep within his gut. He pulled his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes roughly, hoping to help them adjust to the brightness of the room. As the burning sensation in his eyes subsided, Robin shook his head to and fro in an attempt to shake the cobwebs from his mind; it was as though he was in a fog.

His head throbbed mercilessly; it was as though his pate was being squeezed in a vice. He let out a low grunt as the intensity of the throbbing rose and fell with each passing heartbeat. He breathed in and out deeply several times in rapid succession in a vain attempt to assuage his discomfort, finding only more uncertainty lingering on each dying breath. He quickly examined himself, taking note that he was in a bed outfitted with sidebars. His body from the waist down was wrapped snugly in a large, dark green blanket, which was tucked in tightly at his sides and underneath his feet, like a cocoon.

An intravenous line had been placed carefully in the vein of his right arm, and an electrocardiograph sensor had been slipped over his index finger. He quickly took note that the top of his uniform had been cut away, and in its place—wrapped tightly, yet comfortably—was what seemed like miles of gauze encasing his midsection. He rubbed his hands up and down his chest quickly, as though performing his own extemporaneous examination. Feeling nothing, he worked his way around to his shoulders and back and immediately felt a sharp, stinging pain radiate through the area. He winced, grimacing in the wake of the piercing ache which lingered long after he removed his hand from the affected area.

Robin wracked his brain, trying to remember what had happened and how he had managed to injure himself so severely.

He remembered staring at the vestal moonlight. He remembered racing down the empty streets of Jump City on the R-Cycle, the night at his back and the wind chilling his skin as the streetlights illuminating the road ahead blurred together. He closed his eyes tightly; trying to concentrate…trying to recall what had happened. In his mind's eye, he could see a large building at the end of a road, dismounting the R-Cycle and slowly skulking toward it, cloistered by the prevailing darkness. He could recollect stumbling upon a pair of double-doors, their bronze handles gleaming in the astral light.

Images of long, winding corridors flashed before his eyes, disappearing as quickly as they came.

He brought both hands to his head and gently massaged his still-throbbing temples, hoping to evoke something tangible from the nebulous and disjointed array of memories flickering interminably inside his mind. In an instant, his eyes shot open as sweat began to form at his brow. He panted heavily, still unnerved. As he sat up in the rock-hard mattress, his eyes darted around the room taking note of his surroundings; the white tile floor and grey walls eased his worry with their familiarity.

Similarly, the large computer monitor in the center of the room and the oversized bay window to his immediate left brought a strange sense of comfort to his troubled mind. He gazed back at the computer screen, and noticed that it was monitoring his vital signs from the electrocardiograph sensor clipped to his finger. He inhaled deeply as a feeling of warmth washed over him, replacing the nagging uncertainty which had prevailed. In a moment of clarity and relief, Robin realized that he was in the infirmary of Titan's Tower.

Robin slowly lowered himself down onto the rigid mattress, his face contorting in pain as his back and shoulders made contact with the unforgiving surface. Robin bore the pain, gritting his teeth while choking back whimpers and moans. As he laid supine, staring at the Infirmary's ceiling and the bright lights overhead, Robin made every effort to remain completely motionless, having no desire to endure the searing pain once more. As he settled in, making himself as comfortable as he could be considering the circumstances, Robin's mind drifted back to the events that led to his current state.

He cupped both of his hands over his face, digging his fingertips into his scalp.

He closed his eyes tightly and—with every ounce of energy he could muster—focused on what he could remember, hoping the recently uncovered memories would lead to greater, more substantial discoveries. Robin breathed in gently through his nose until his lungs were filled to capacity, then he held the breath deep within, like a safely guarded secret before exhaling in a slow, controlled fashion. After a few minutes of rhythmic breathing and intense concentration, Robin's body was completely at ease, taking the back-burner to his keen and calculating mind.

As Robin's heart rate and respiration slowed, his mind was clear to operate unfettered by distraction. He could no longer feel the ubiquitous, astringent pain effecting his back and shoulders. The feelings of worry and uncertainty which permeated every fiber of his being simply melted away like ice in the sunlight, no longer posing a hindrance to clear and logical thought.

As Robin sank deeper into thought, he began to uncover what exactly had occurred. Images appeared to him; flickering thoughts, transient in nature, which came and went like an old-time movie. Robin could see himself filing down a long corridor, peeking into each passing door and window as he went. He could recall coming to a crossroads, having to choose between the Engineering Room and the Control Room.

He remembered sneaking down another hallway, trying desperately to avoid premature detection, before reaching another set of double-doors which comprised the entrance of the Engineering Room. He could feel the tension in the air, the abundant confusion rising within him as nothing in the Engineering Room appeared out of the ordinary.

Robin remembered bits and pieces of the battle with Slade, though it was muddled.

At first Slade had the decided advantage, having him disarmed and splayed out on the cold cement floor of the Engineering Room. Yet it quickly became apparent that Slade wasn't intent on killing him… but rather… something else. Eventually, he'd gained the upper-hand once more, driving Slade's head into a thick concrete wall, a popping noise accompanying the sickening thud, as Slade fell to the floor limply. Silence prevailed for a few moments, yet those moments seemed to stretch on and on, bleeding into one another.

He walked up to Slade's seemingly lifeless body, lying face-down on the floor, and rolled him over. To his surprise, the shattered remnants of Slade's mask gave way to a small computer screen, which displayed static before coming into focus. Slade's countenance appeared on the screen, chuckling. Arrogance practically dripped from Slade's barbs as he spoke, twisting the proverbial knife in his gut; mocking him for his inadequacies as a leader, and his shortcomings as a friend.

_"I wonder what went through the twins' minds as you walked away. I wonder what they thought of you in the end…"_

_"You cannot run away from the truth, nor can you hide it from your friends. They will find out about your deception and the Titans will be no more…"_

_"Think of your future, Robin. Consider what is best for you. Meet me tomorrow at midnight at the Jump City National Bank…"_

The next thing Robin knew, he was fleeing.

From the danger? From the Truth? It mattered not. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He could feel his feet pounding angrily against the white tile floor, as his heart pounded in consternation. His blood raced through his veins and his lungs burned, as though they had been set ablaze. He could hear nothing but the sound of his heart throbbing emphatically and the dull resonating of his footsteps down the darkened corridor.

"NO!" Robin wailed, jerking up from the bed violently.

He yelped in pain as he sat up, as the burning pain afflicting his back and shoulders made its presence felt once more. As the stinging ache subsided gradually into a radiating twinge, Robin pulled his knees to his chest, grasping them tightly. Sweat dripped from his brow, down the sides of his face, off of his chin and onto his chest. His breathing—once rhythmic and calm—was now frantic and spasmodic.

The visions of Slade, the villain's venomous words, all led to uneasiness within Robin's gut.

"Think… about my… future?" Robin murmured to himself, his body in agony as he cupped both of his hands on his brow, whisking away droplets of sweat, "What does he have planned…? What does it have to do with my future?"

Robin sat in silence, listening to the din of the electrocardiograph machine normalize; as he calmed down, the frenetic bleating was reduced to a steady, predictable pattern. As Robin sat quietly, trying to figure out Slade's intentions, he heard footsteps approach from down the hall.

The large steel door slid open with a hiss, revealing Cyborg.

"Robin!" Cyborg said, a sense of urgency and concern forthright in his tone, "What's going on, man? Your vitals were going haywire and I heard a scream from down the hall. Is everything okay?"

Robin looked at his mechanical friend, whose expression was fraught with empathetic worry. Cyborg walked over to Robin's bedside and glanced down at the Boy Wonder, who was clearly troubled; vexed by yet another of Slade's deceptions, silently chastising himself for being duped yet again.

"What happened, Cy?" Robin asked, his voice wavering as he choked out his words, "I only remember what happened up to a certain point…"

Cyborg looked at Robin sympathetically. Robin was never the kind of guy to take failure of any kind lying down; in fact, it was uncharacteristic of him to lose at all. Defeat was always a bitter pill to swallow and its effects were long-lasting and far-reaching.

"There was an explosion at the Jump City Fuel Company," Cyborg said gently, trying to soothe his leader's wounded pride. "Raven, Starfire, and I all felt the aftershock of the building going up, and we all checked in with one another. When you didn't contact us, Star and I went to look for you. When we got to the Fuel Company, there was nothing left; some of the building framework was still in place, but the machinery was destroyed. It's a total loss."

Robin's face went blank with disappointment. Not only had he allowed Slade to get the better of him once more, but he let the people of Jump City down as well; both of which were unforgivable offenses in his book. Robin cupped rubbed his eyes roughly with one hand while gesturing for Cyborg to continue with the other.

"We scoured the area looking for you." Cyborg carried on, his tone soft, "Star and I were really worried that… you… well… you know… but after sifting through the rubble, we ended up finding you. You were bloodied and unconscious, but we managed to get you back to the Tower."

Robin nodded, a frown plastered on his face; he threw the covers off of his legs and swung them over the sidebars, preparing to get out of bed.

Cyborg took note and quickly blocked his path.

"Cy, what are you doing?" Robin asked inquisitively, staring at the robotic man with confusion in his eyes. "We've got to catch Slade… there's work."

"Let Star and I take care of it," Cyborg replied, his tone swimming with seriousness. "You are in no condition to fight. What you need right now is rest."

"How can I rest with Slade on the loose?" Robin wailed furiously, "He's threatening the entire city and you expect me to sit here and do nothing about it?"

Cyborg quickly reached out and flicked Robin lightly on the shoulder. The Boy Wonder responded with a yelp as a shockwave of pain rushed through his body, contributing to the wrenching pain gnawing at the afflicted area.

"How can you expect to go toe-to-toe with Slade when you can't even move?" Cyborg remarked, shaking his head from side to side. "You know you can't fight right now, Robin. I know how you feel: you want to bring Slade down just like I wanted to stop Brother Blood. You can't endanger yourself."

Robin reluctantly swung his legs back over the sidebars and pulled the rough, dark green covers back up over his legs. He hated to admit it, but Cyborg was right. He was in absolutely no condition to fight Slade; even under the best of circumstances, Slade was a handful.

"How did things go for you, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire?" Robin asked dejectedly, stewing in self-loathing and disappointment.

"Things went off without a hitch for me and B.B. at the Jump City Power Authority," Cyborg said proudly, puffing his chest out a little. "Overload didn't put up much of a fight, and Starfire handled Plasmus well—stopping him before he did any major damage to the Water Sanitation Facility…"

"What about Raven?" Robin asked, his voice brimming with worrisome curiosity.

"She never checked in," Cyborg replied flatly, all optimism vanishing from his tone. "We tried contacting her several times, but she never responded. Starfire and I are going to catch some shut-eye and then we are going to go looking for her. It's been an awfully long night and we are going to need some rest before diving headlong into another mystery."

Robin nodded assent, agreeing with Cyborg. Robin's eyes narrowed as he ruminated, confounded by Slade's plan. Of all of Slade's previous plans, this was by far his most intricate, well-developed scheme. Each stage had been carefully and painstakingly planned; Slade had clearly done his homework. The only question that remained was what angle he was playing: what did Slade hope to gain?

"This plan of Slade's," Robin began modestly. "It's so far-reaching and complex. You and Star were successful in thwarting two aspects of his scheme, and Raven could have very well been successful. The Fuel Company has been destroyed, but that is the only aspect of Slade's plan that has been successful. What does he hope to gain from all of this?"

"It's Slade, man," Cyborg replied matter-of-factly. "His reasons are his own, they always are. Do I think that we stopped him? I can't really be sure. I think that we prevented a catastrophe of cataclysmic proportions, but like you said, he was partially successful."

Robin's face lost all expression as he began to unravel Slade's plan for himself.

His heart began to pound faster and faster as the realization of what Slade had in mind began to sink in.

"Cy," Robin said, his eyes wide in horror, his voice a ghost of itself, "Why attack four separate targets if you don't intend on destroying all of them?"

"I'm not really sure," Cyborg replied earnestly, "I do know that his plan kept us up all night and on our toes."

"Exactly," Robin replied tersely, "What if Slade didn't care whether or not he destroyed all of the targets? What if his real goal was to keep us occupied for a set period of time?"

"A distraction? If a distraction is what he was going for, he more than succeeded," Cyborg replied, furrowing his brow quizzically.

Robin stared at Cyborg, a puzzled expression plastered on his face.

Cyborg said nothing.

Rather, he turned toward the large computer in the center of the room and—with a few keystrokes—brought the local television stations up on the screen. As the mechanical man flipped through the various channels, there was one common thread between all of them; each station was covering the latest breaking news story: The destruction of the Jump City Fuel Company. Cyborg flipped to another channel, where the news was being reported live and from the scene; a brunette woman in her mid-twenties wearing a black business suit stood in front of the smoldering ruins.

"It all started early this morning in downtown Jump City," the woman began, face devoid of all emotion and tone steely and stern, "Around five this morning, the Jump City Police Department received a distress call about a potential explosion in the metropolitan area. Upon further investigation, the police on the scene discovered that the Jump City Fuel Company had been completely destroyed by an apparent terrorist act. Authorities will not speculate at this time who they believe is behind this latest attack on the city. The Jump City Fuel Company supplied natural gas to the entire city; its destruction leaves countless citizens without heat and hot water. Citizens are urged to remain calm in the wake of this latest misfortune. City officials are hesitant to place a time frame on the restoration of natural gas and fuel services to the city, but assured us that 'all that can be done to address the situation at hand is being done.' With that, I am Kristen Singleton, Channel Five News."

As the report came to an end, Cyborg turned off the computer screen. He knew that the news would simply cover the story again, and the last thing Robin needed right now was to be reminded of his failure. Cyborg looked back at Robin, whose face was a mosaic of frustration and terror.

"Like I said, Robin," Cyborg said walking back to Robin's bedside, "If Slade wanted a distraction, he succeeded in a big way. All of the city's first responders: firemen, police, city employees, and so on are all working around the clock downtown to clear the rubble, and rebuild. At the same time, the people of Jump are being whipped into frenzy by the media."

"Slade has the whole city in the palm of his hand," Robin said, his voice filled with fear. "With everyone distracted and preoccupied—and with no one looking—he has free reign over the entire city…"

Robin and Cyborg remained silent as the sober reality of Slade's dubious plan began to assert itself. Terror filled their minds and hearts as they came to the conclusion that Jump City—their city… their _home—_was at the mercy of a madman.

**TXXXXXT**

The sun was shining brightly over the horizon, smiling on the new day that had broken.

The blithe light bathed Jump City in a phosphorescent glow, glinting off of the windows of the large skyscrapers, which cast long, sweeping silhouettes. The streets were eerily quiet. Normally, at this time of day, the streets were humming with people on their way to work or simply going about their daily business. This morning, however, the streets were deserted, like a ghost-town sans tumbleweeds. Will, Rebecca, and the twins walked from street to street, sticking mainly to the side-roads and back alleys to avoid detection; they didn't want to risk being followed.

"Boy," Will said, looking awestruck. "Where is everybody? I figured we were going to run into crowds of people, but so far I haven't seen a soul."

"It's really strange," Rebecca replied with a shrug, still carrying her large black duffel bag "I wonder what's going on…"

"Whatever _is_ going on, it isn't good," Patrokalos panted, hefting the girl on her back up yet again; he carried Raven with the girl's legs securely in his arms and Persephone right behind him, both of them walking agilely and deliberately. "We gotta keep moving and get inside as soon as we can. This girl may not be much bigger than my sister, but she's waaaaaaay heavier!"

"Really?" Percy asked, blinking in surprise as she eyed her brother. "I always thought Raven was thinner than me."

"Perse, you and I were severely anorexic until a year ago," Patty deadpanned, shooting the girl an amused look. "Nobody's thinner than you."

"We're only a couple minutes away from my brother's loft," Will chuckled. "It takes a little longer to take the back way around,"

The man led them through another series of alleys, lined with dumpsters, garbage cans and refuse. Each alleyway was a narrow corridor—only about six feet wide—and sandwiched tightly between two buildings. Similarly, each alleyway seemed to teem with discarded boxes and wrappers, and were adorned with potholes and mud puddles. As they walked through the winding series of passageways, silence was predominant. Only the sound of their passage provided any substantial disruption to the ghostly stillness.

After a few more minutes of trudging through the urban labyrinth, they arrived at the rear of a tall, brick building. They were greeted by a single steel door, replete with upper and lower windows comprised of thick, tempered glass. To the right of the door was a small black box, with a tiny glowing red light. Will reached into his pocket and rifled around for a moment before fishing out his key-ring. He thumbed through the keys for a moment before locating a small, grey fob.

Will waved the fob in front of the black box, causing the light to change from red to green, and the door to open with a click.

"Alright guys, here we are," Will said with a self-satisfied smile. "My brother's place is at the top… tenth floor."

Will glanced over at Patty, who looked thoroughly exhausted: sweat was pouring from his brow and dripping onto the white lab coat he was wearing; Percy was touching his arm and trying to keep their powers fused so he could draw on her strength if needed, and Raven remained slumped on His back, breathing slowly and rhythmically.

"Patty, let me take her up the stairs…" Percy pleaded, looking up at her brother with soft eyes. "It's a long climb and you look spent."

"I'll be alright," Patty panted, voice trembling, "I'll rest when we get to the top."

Will thumbed through his key-ring once more, flipping through it as one would a rolodex until he located one specific key, which he separated from the others and handed to Rebecca.

"Here, Rebecca," Will said softly. "This is the key to my brother's apartment. It's the only room on the tenth floor; the twins and I will be up in a minute."

"I'll have the room open," Rebecca said, nodding in agreement. "I'll start setting up an area for us to get to work on her."

Will nodded, signaling his approval. Rebecca quickly bounded up the stairs with the large duffel bag of supplies slung over her shoulder. The sound of her footsteps became increasingly faint as she ascended the staircase. Will looked back over at the goddess, who remained completely reticent; Patrokalos approached the stairwell cautiously, not wanting to misstep and injure herself or Raven; Persephone and William followed directly behind, just in case.

"It's not your fault, you know," Will said calmly, trying to bring some semblance of solace to the boy's troubled mind.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," Patty muttered as he methodically made his way up the stairs.

"Is it working?" Will replied with a slight chuckle and a hearty smile, hoping to evoke a positive response from the boy.

"I wish I could say that it was," Patrokalos somberly replied. "It's hard _not_ to feel responsible."

"No matter how hard we try, we always fall short," Persephone muttered, shaking her head. "Everyone that we love ends up paying the price."

"I don't think that's true since bad things are going to happen, regardless," Will retorted. "It's just part of life, you know?"

They continued to climb the staircase, each of their steps echoing throughout the stairwell as they continued to venture upward.

"I don't know how you can say that," Patrokalos snapped in frustration. "You saw what happened at the hospital; hell, you had a front row seat! Do you think any of that would have happened if the two of us hadn't been there?"

Will remained quiet, trying to formulate a reassuring response: he had come to realize over the last few weeks that, although both of the twins liked to appear outwardly aloof, they were undoubtedly the most intelligent and sensitive people he had ever met. The twins bore their burdens well, usually hiding behind a façade of disarming humor. Yet, even their carefree personalities had cracks in it; behind the fissures, they were vulnerable and afraid.

"Yeah, Slade was after you," Will sighed, shooting the two of them a look when they blinked in surprise, "and yeah, he hurt some people to get to you, but that doesn't make it your fault. People like him are willing to sacrifice anything and anybody to get what they want."

"And he wanted _us!"_ Percy snapped angrily. "He hurt all of those people in the hospital and _Raven_ so he could get to _us_!_"_

Will tried to think of something comforting to say, but came up blank. He looked at the twins, watching Patty as he carried Raven's unconscious form up the stairs. Though the boy said nothing, it was apparent that the blonde boy was internally berating himself for putting innocent people in harm's way; after taking a glance at his twin, he figured the same thing was happening with her, too. William and the Harmony Twins reached the top of the stairs and were greeted by an open door at the end of a short hallway. Patty walked toward the door, trailed closely by his sister and the male nurse.

Suddenly, with Raven still in his grasp, Patty turned around and faced Will with a startling expression on his face: he looked ready to cry.

"I remember telling someone once," Patrokalos whispered, eyes welling up with tears, "that having powers makes you different, but how you used them makes you unique. I was wrong. Having powers makes you different: those differences are what tears mankind apart—regardless of how you use them!"

"Patrokalos…" Will whispered, heart sinking into his shoes upon hearing the boy's rationale.

"What good is having special abilities o-or immortality," Persephone squeaked, also turning around; she quickly burst into tears, "if we c-can't even save the people we l-love? It's happened over and over again! Our parents, our friends, our foster families—everyone! Every single one of the people we've ever loved were taken away from us because we're _freaks_ with 'special powers'! Our hearts have been broken over and over, and every time we manage to pick up the pieces and put them back together again, something happens and it shatters—leaving less love to hold than before! If I can't save the girl I call my sister, it's going to break for the last time and I'll give up. My heart only has five pieces left to break... one piece for each of the Titans."

"If I can't save the girl I love," Patrokalos finished, shaking his head, "I'll go insane."

With that, the two blondes quickly turned and headed into the loft, leaving Will outside with his mouth agape.

Their words had cut him to the core; he'd known that the angels had been struggling internally and were truly conflicted about what to do next, but he'd never expected them to consider throwing in the towel completely. William sighed, utterly speechless, before following the twinsinto the loft and shutting the door behind him.

"Rebecca, where are you?" Percy called, scanning the apartment and feeling taken aback by its stateliness: it was large and spacious, but the walls were all eggshell white; various and sundry pictures adorned them. The carpet was a dark tan color, and wound throughout the spacious apartment. To their left was the living area, complete with a light beige furniture set, two glass tables, and an entertainment center. To their right was the kitchen.

"I'm back here! Through the living room, second door on the left!" Rebecca shouted loudly so the twins could hear her. Percy and Patty shared a glanced before they walked through the living room carefully, taking in their surroundings before heading down the hall.

The first room they passed looked like a bedroom, and was decorated similarly to the rest of the loft; the next door they passed was a bathroom, complete with a black tile floor and granite counters. Finally, the twins came across the final room, which served as a second bedroom. Rebecca was waiting for them, and had her supplies set up so that Raven's medical condition could be readily addressed. Rebecca had laid a large white sheet over the top of the bedspread on the bed. Patty walked in carefully and stepped gently to the side of the bed, where he set Raven down with ginger. Then he took a step back and clasped Percy's hand: both of them stared at Raven's limp body, rising and falling with every breath.

Their eyes began to fill with tears once more.

"Guys," Rebecca said quietly, "she's going to be okay. Trust me."

"I just can't stand to see her like that," Patty replied morosely, tone barely above a whimper. Rebecca got to her feet and walked over to the boy, who remained motionless and continued staring at Raven. The woman placed her hands on his shoulders and massaged them gently, getting his attention.

"You have no reason to feel guilty since you didn't do anything wrong," Rebecca said sternly, gazing into Patty's startling blue eyes. "I promise that she'll be just fine. Will and I are going to look her over and treat her wounds; after that, she'll be right as rain… you'll see!"

Patty nodded sheepishly before glancing down at his twin, who was gazing at him with a worried frown on her face.

There was much for the two of them to consider. What would Raven say when she saw the twins? Would she be happy to see themr? Would she be angry with them? How would they explain their lengthy absence? The twins bristled with an amalgamation of disjointed thoughts, which only troubled them more... and worse still, Slade was expecting the two of them to make the biggest decision of their lives. Will entered the room, carrying a small stack of folded clothes and he looked at Rebecca sympathetically; she simply nodded in reply. Both felt terrible for the twins, who—on top of already having gone through a great deal of suffering—felt responsible for the attack on the hospital and Raven's injuries as well.

"Hey, guys," William sighed, giving them a hard look, "how about you get yourself cleaned up and get some rest? I'm sure you'll feel a whole lot better after a hot shower and a few hours of sleep. I took the liberty of rummaging through my niece's wardrobe so Percy will have some actual clothes to wear; she's very close to your size. Patty, I'm sure I have some old clothes that will fit you. Don't worry about that too much, okay?"

The twins nodded, but Percy stared when Will handed her a black and white dress with a towel.

"T-thanks…" the girl murmured softly, her tone still filled with sorrow.

The twins were about to leave the room, but a hand on their shoulders stopped them.

"I'll give you my word. We'll do everything we can to help her, so go get some rest," Will sated in a firm tone of voice, looking at the blondes with resolve and seriousness in his jade green eyes. Although they said nothing, a ghost of a smile appeared on Percy and Patty's face: it looked rather eerie since it sprang up on their lips at the same time and actually managed to look the same. Both blondes nodded once and walked out of the room: Patty slinked down towards the living room and Percy padded into the bathroom across the hall. Will looked at Rebecca, who was standing at Raven's bedside.

"Let's get started," Will said calmly, waggling his eyebrows with a devilish grin on his face.

With a smack and yelp, he was quickly scolded by an angry woman.

After the jokes were finished and all smacks had been given, Will and Rebecca began to work on Raven. Wasting little time, Rebecca cut away the midsection of the pale girl's leotard, exposing her wound: William looked upon the dark red burn wound, contrasted with a few black char marks and winced as a flash went through him. Rebecca quickly poured the saline solution into the large cotton swab and began gently cleaning out the horrific burn-wound.

"That's pretty gnarly looking," Will commented offhandedly, face still contorting in disgust. "Those blasters did a number on her."

"The wound looks worse than it is, really," Rebecca retorted. "I'm going to finish cleaning and dressing it, but other than that, there's nothing wrong with her."

Will nodded in agreement as Rebecca discarded the large cotton swab and fished a roll of gauze out of the black duffel bag on the floor at her feet. Will lifted Raven gently, allowing Rebecca to wrap the gauze tightly around the injured Empath's midsection. As they finished wrapping the wound, protecting it from infection, the man lightly set the teenage girl back down on the bed. Rebecca then began cleaning up the rest of the supplies, organizing them and placing them into various different pouches of the duffel bag. She brushed her dirty-blonde hair out of her face as she finished, zipping up the bag.

As she got to her feet and turned around, she found Will standing behind her with a large grin plastered across his face.

Just as Will and Rebecca became distracted, Raven's eyes darted open and she quickly lifted herself upright.

The last thing she could remember was being overcome by the Slade-bots at the hospital. Her heart raced as fear crept up her spine and survival became her highest imperative. Without hesitation she enveloped both Will and Rebecca in negative energy, lifting them up into the air and almost to the ceiling. Her eyes burned white-hot as she found the strength to pull herself out of the bed, standing to confront the two bickering strangers before her.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Raven growled, not knowing if the people before her were friends or enemies.

"W-we were t-trying to h-help you!" Will shouted out, voice wavering as the dark energy chilled him to the core and uncertainty filled his heart.

"Y-yeah…we're f-friends of the Harmony Twins!" Rebecca squeaked, heart pounding like a drum. Raven's eyes quickly changed in color from white to blood red, and a second pair of eyes appeared below them. She almost doubled in size, rising to the ceiling as dark tendrils of energy began to swirl around her, laying waste to the room.

Objects began to fly indiscriminately through their air as Raven began to lose control.

"LIARS!" Raven howled, her tone brusque and deafening, "You don't even deserve to SPEAK THEIR NAMES!"

Will and Rebecca's faces quickly filled with fear as they gazed upon what could only be described as terror incarnate.

"We're telling the truth!" Will pleaded, practically begging Raven to hear reason. "The twins are alive... they're here… Patty's in the other room and Percy's in the shower!"

"Percy was my sister! Patty was the boy I _loved!"_ Raven snarled, her eyes ablaze. "I'll tear you apart for desecrating their memory!"


	33. Chapter 32: The Truth is Revealed

**Chapter Thirty-Two: The Truth is Revealed**

When Persephone was done with her shower, she walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Patrokalos had soon taken her place: he simply stood in the shower after cleaning his body, relaxing his muscles as the hot water seared across his cold, white skin.

Steam rose around his muscular form, enveloping him like a warm blanket as it rose to the ceiling: Patty could feel his aching muscles loosening to a state of utter relaxation; he stood there, bracing himself with both hands against the wall so the water could pour down his back and shoulders. His hair hung down to his thighs as he breathed in deeply, allowing the steam to consume him. However, even though the hot water was soothing his aching body, his mind was churning incessantly.

Slade's offer replayed itself in his mind, like an echo in an empty room.

"_As they say, teamwork divides the task at hand and multiplies the opportunity for success. Together, you and I could change this city…tear it down and rebuild it as we see fit. United, no one could oppose us. We could be the masters of all before us… and you would be my queen. You have until midnight to make up your mind, little Angels. Meet me at the Jump City National Bank; make sure you arrive on time… I don't like to be kept waiting._"

Uncertainty and confusion lingered tangibly, creeping and squirming within Patty's gut.

Though Slade was repugnant at best, his words had resounded strongly with the angel and his sister. His friends had abandoned them, leaving the two of them broken and bloodied on the Jump City Bridge. Even though he and Persephone had sacrificed so much of themselves to protect the city, in the end they'd been expendable. Robin's impertinence and indifference alone was enough to crush his heart: after Robin's betrayal, Patty had found himself alone in a hostile world with nobody but his twin to stand behind him.

The two of them had made _more_ than their fair share of enemies during their time with the Teen Titans.

Formidable foes and common scum alike would seek to enact their revenge against the Twins; with no allies, they would constantly have to look over their shoulder to make sure no one was lingering in the shadows, waiting for the two of them to lower their guard. Even then, it would only be a matter of time until they erred and someone was able to turn their fantasy of retribution into a stark reality. No man was an island and he was certainly no exception. Though a part of him yearned for the potential benefits a partnership with Slade would offer—namely to get even with Robin—another part of him repelled such a sickening thought.

The psycho had tortured them for five years and had killed their foster family.

Patty knew that no good could ever come from a partnership with Slade: the man always had an ulterior motive or an angle that he would play; when Slade was through with the twins, he would turn against them. Something deeper, however, nagged at Patty: even though he was angry... no, _seething_ about what had been done to him, no amount of bloodshed could ever change the past. Robin had made a terrible mistake in leaving them to die, but that _didn't_ make the other Titans, or even the people of Jump City—all of whom would be targets of Slade's plot—responsible.

What was more… Patty still cared for Robin, despite what he'd done. It made the blonde boy sick to feel that way now, but it was true: Patrokalos still considered him to be family, and he was certain that Persephone felt the same way. The angel let out a frustrated growl and drew his long hair back behind his shoulders, letting the water run over his face and closing his eyes as his mind continually tore itself up.

Making this decision wouldn't be easy.

"I wish," the boy finally muttered to himself, "that someone could help me and show me which path to take."

After that, the boy turned off the water and dry off using the towel that Will had given him; he then wiped the steam from the mirror in the bathroom and looked at his reflection. Patty knew that he and Persephone were going to have to make the biggest decision of their lives, and either way it was going to impact the those around them. Patty sighed heavily, unable to clear his mind.

As he stood there, lost in thought, he heard an uproarious clatter from down the hall.

Without knowing what to expect, Patrokalos wrapped the towel around his waist and bolted out of the bathroom, darting down the hall in order to see what was causing the ruckus. When the blonde boy threw open the door to the spare room, his blue eyes widened when he saw that Will and Rebecca were being held suspended in the air by Raven, who was looming over them. Emanating shadowy tendrils and totally out of control, the pale girl was literally standing poised to deliver a deathblow to the defenseless hospital workers. Clutching the towel to his waist, Patty threw himself between the demonic girl and his friends, wings exploding out of his back in a spray of blinding blue fire.

"Raven, stop!" he roared, holding out a hand in the standard 'halt' signal.

In an instant, Will and Rebecca dropped to the floor and landed roughly on the carpet: Raven quickly shrunk down to the floor, sitting lying in a crumpled heap as her glowing red eyes became large. Patrokalos quickly rushed to her side and clutched the towel against his waist before kneeling down next to the Empath; Raven's eyes soon returned to their normal state, her violet irises opening slowly gazing up at the figure looming over her.

As she stared, she couldn't believe her eyes; the breath within her quickly escaped and her heart practically seized.

"P-Patty?" Raven whispered, eyes going blank. "Is that you?"

"Raven… it's okay… it's me…" Patty said softly, shaking his wet blonde hair out of his soft blue eyes; looking over his shoulder, the angel flapped his wings a bit before he folded them around his body in an attempt to cover up his partial nudity.

"Patty?! What's going on?!" Persephone cried, bolting into the room with sleepy blue eyes. "I heard a loud crash and I..."

She halted when she saw that Raven was awake and staring at her.

"Percy?" the empath squeaked, eyes becoming huge.

"R... Raven?" Persephone whispered, eyes lighting up with joy. "RAVEN!"

When the blonde girl tried to run forward, Raven jerked backward on the floor and scrabbled from them so quickly that the twins froze. The empath's mind was in a state of utter confusion and disbelief: to her, it was like being in a room filled with people all shouting at the top of their lungs; it made concentrating on any one voice close to impossible. As she shuffled back on the floor, she looked back up at Patrokalos, who was standing wrapped in nothing more than a towel and bathed the bright, afternoon light that poured in through the windows.

His fiery wings glistened in the sun as he looked down at her with a stunned expression.

Raven's eyes slowly flicked to the boy's broad chest and abdomen—which were covered in thick, jagged scars: her eyes widened and she suddenly found herself transfixed by the numerous serpentine wounds that had been carved into the boy's skin; they were horrific and utterly captivating all at once. After glancing at Percy and noting the way she was holding her stomach, she realized that the girl must have had scars on her body as well.

New scars... from recent injuries: their bodies had been completely shredded.

However, Patty turned red in embarrassment and pulled the towel a little higher before regaining his composure.

"Raven, please, it's okay…" Persephone whined, biting her lip. "I mean, it's not like we're... you know..."

"You're in a safe place," Patrokalos added, looking hurt by the way she was acting. "Nothing can hurt you while I'm here."

The sound of their voices snapped Raven out of her fixation on the marred bodies in front of her, bringing her attention to the boy's face. Patrokalos smiled at her in that goofy little way, twinkling blue eyes sparkling like they always had... yet, Raven could tell that something was different about both the boy she loved _and_ his twin sister. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was evident: Patty's features were no longer as soft and warm as she'd remembered; Persephone looked exhausted and weathered—but much more delicate and fragile than usual... almost as though a single touch would cause her to shatter into a million pieces. The two of them had dark bags under their eyes from lack of sleep, and there was a jagged scar above their right and left eyes: the scars were like mirror images on their faces.

"How can this be?" Raven asked, heart pounding feverishly. "R-robin told us that you… died."

Patrokalos and Persephone both took a few more steps toward Raven, who responded by retreating further toward the wall. The twins looked into her eyes—which were normally both stolid and beautiful—and saw only terror emanating from them. Patty could feel his heart sinking and Percy's lips trembled as the empath shrank away from them; her reaction made the boy feel like a monster rather than someone with angelic powers.

"Robin was mistaken," Patrokalos said softly, hoping to put her mind at ease. "Raven… I..."

"We're not dead," Persephone whispered, lips quivering as her eyes filled with tears. "We're not! See?!"

Raven continued to stare at the blondes, mind buzzing incessantly.

Last she'd known, she had been fighting Slade-bots at the hospital. Awakening to find herself in an unfamiliar place surrounded by unfamiliar people was enough of a shock, but to be splayed out on the floor at the feet of a dead girl's ghost was simply too much to process. Raven's heart continued to race of its own accord, thumping with such vigor it threatened to burst. Patrokalos walked closer to Raven, who had backed herself into the wall.

The empath was actually sitting with her back against the wall, staring up at him in fright and distrust.

Patrokalos rubbed his eyes roughly, feeling lower than ever: both he _and_ Percy had worried about what her reaction would be when she finally came to, but to see the girl sitting on the floor, practically petrified of them, did much to confirm the worst of their fears. Patty took a deep breath and held it for a moment before slowly lowering himself to Raven's level.

"It's me, Rachel…" Patrokalos whispered, blue eyes filling with tears when Raven continued trying to retreat further into the wall. "What do I have to do to make you believe me? I'll do anything! I... I... I love you... so please... don't..."

Raven said nothing and instead fixed her gaze on the boy's eyes.

It wasn't his scarred body or his haunted features which entreated her now: this time, she was close enough to look at his eyes. She stared into them with a barbed expression, searching them intently as he gazed at her. They were the same wondrous hue—that sparkling electric blue—and they burned as brightly as sapphires that were refracting bright beams sunlight. Although they were filled with oceans of pain that seemed to quake with a profound and inherent sadness, she saw an expression that literally made her heart stop for three seconds.

She could see the love in his eyes... the love that had once made her feel safe.

Raven felt her anxiety begin to melt away.

"Patrokalos…?" Raven said, voice filling with jubilant confusion. "It _is_ you! You and Percy are alive! But… how?"

"None of that matters right now, Rae Rae!" Percy squeaked, feminine soprano filling with soft gentleness. "All that matters is you're okay since you had the two of us really worried—but I promise we'll explain everything to you later, okay?"

Raven didn't move at first, still in shock from all that had occurred: as she stared at the smiling twins before her, her qualms and inhibitions were forced to the back of her mind. Slowly, she extended her arm and reached for Patty's large, outstretched hand… and grasped it in hers gently. As Raven took the boy's hand and rose to her feet, surges of malevolent pain tore through her body, which immediately went limp: her head began to pound mercilessly as a cavalcade of emotions began to rush through her all at once. Raven quickly covered her face with her hands as her knees buckled and she fell to the floor in a heap. Her body convulsed as she rolled on the ground, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

_As the world flickered into black and white images, colors inverted before righting themselves and Raven suddenly found herself lying on a cold, hard surface, wracked by the most intense pain she had ever experienced. She could feel her body growing colder and her breaths growing shorter as she stared up at the starry sky above. Out of the prevailing shadows, a figure loomed above her, staring at her apathetically. The figure's eyes burned white-hot with intensity as it stood unflinching, as though it was calculating its next move. Raven twitched and stretched her bloodied hand out to the silhouette, praying for help. As the night grew darker, only the figure's luminescent eyes remained; though it lingered in the surrounding blackness. _

_"Robin, please…" Percy's voice whimpered nearby._

_Raven opened her mouth and Patrokalos's crying voice came out of it._

_"Help us..." Raven mewled, feeling utterly shocked at the sound of a male voice coming out of her mouth._

_"I'm sorry, Harmony Twins. I wish there was some other way…"_

"NO!" Raven shrieked at the top of her lungs, still writhing on the floor—paralyzed by the agonizing ache which coursed throughout her body. Percy and Patty were huddled close to Raven's side, feeling concerned for the girl's safety. Will and Rebecca, having never seen anything like what was unfolding in front of them them, took a few precautionary steps backward and moved toward the door to the room. Raven's body continued to jerk spasmodically as she dug her fingertips into her scalp, unable to cope with the charges of excruciating pain which were pounding against her like violent tidal-waves.

As Raven's body trembled wildly, she screamed and wailed loudly. Her deafening cries of pain filled the room; the twins, Will, and Rebecca could only watch in horror as the sorceress shrieked shrilly, her cries resonating strongly within their minds. As Raven continued to flail, her dark energy began to radiate from her body, swirling viciously around the room. The windows shattered, sending shards of glass airborne before falling carelessly to the carpet below. The bed angrily pounded against the wall, sending reverberations through the floor. Similarly, the closet doors slammed closed, swung open, and slammed closed once more. After what seemed like an eternity, Raven's outburst subsided and silence swept over the room.

The spare room was a mess; the bed was askew and its covers were strewn about, shards of glass were scattered across the carpeted floor and a cold draft now blew in through windowless gaps in the wall. Amidst the destruction, Raven lay motionless on the floor, breathing gently. Will stood wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open in shock. He glanced at Raven, who remained sprawled on the floor, before glancing at the twins; he stammered incoherently for a few moments, letting the harsh reality of Raven's episode and the current state of his brother's apartment sink in.

"What… uh, what the hell just happened?" Will asked bluntly, staring at Percy—practically beseeching the girl for answers. "Is that… _normal_ for her?"

"Yeah," Rebecca added, her voice just barely above a whisper, still shocked by what she'd witnessed, "she was fine… well, she was confused, but she wasn't convulsing and wrecking stuff!"

The twins didn't speak; their expressions were a testament to their worry and concern. Patty stared at Raven, whose body lay in the middle of the destruction, before he approached her slowly: the boy took care not to step on any glass shards, but as he got closer to the fallen sorceress, he could see her chest rising and falling rhythmically as she took in long, deep breaths. Patrokalos knelt by her side and noticed that her eyes were wide open and her countenance was completely flushed... although, she _was_ devoid of expression.

"Raven, are you okay? What just happened?" Patty asked worriedly, reaching out to nudge her out of her stupor.

Suddenly, Raven came alive.

"No! Don't touch me!" Raven shrieked, getting to her knees before crawling away from him.

The Empath winced in pain as the sharp glass shards jabbed against her skin as she evaded the boy's fingers. Patty flinched before he drew his hand back, staring at the girl with stricken eyes before he hung his head in defeat: Percy could feel tears stinging her own eyes when Raven moved herself to the corner of the room, trying to get away from them.

The empath moved until she was sitting with her back against the wall, still trying to recover from the deluge of emotions and memories that had overcome her mind. She slowly got to her feet, wincing in pain as the burn-wound to her abdominal region seared unpleasantly. She gently removed the shards of glass which stuck to the palms of her hands and her knees; fortunately most of them hadn't broken the skin. After a moment, she stood up and looked down at Patty, who remained on his knees and stared at the ground. The male angel looked up at her after a moment, returning her gaze as tears spilled down his cheeks: the shattered expression in his eyes made her wince.

"I-I need to meditate…" Raven said meekly, staring at him as she stood in the corner with her back to the wall; without a moment's hesitation, she encased herself in dark energy and phased through the ceiling. Rebecca rushed to Percy's side when she merely sank to her own knees: both of the twins had been deeply hurt by Raven's actions. She placed a hand gently on the blonde girl's shoulder in an effort to console her.

She looked up at her somberly, clearly crestfallen.

"Percy, Patty... are you guys okay?" the nurse asked sympathetically, feeling badly for the twins; Rebecca feigned a reassuring smile, although she was still bewildered by the sequence of events that had occurred. Patrokalos slowly blinked before he got to his feet, placing one of his large hands on the towel wrapped around his waist in order to make sure that he wouldn't lose it.

"Yeah…" Patrokalos replied softly, eyes unable to focus on anything. "I was just… hoping she would be… _happy_ to see us."

William and Rebecca stood before him, yet neither spoke: Rebecca wished that she could tell the twins that she understood how they felt and that everything would be alright, but there was nothing she could say. The twins was always blithe, even when things were at their worst, so... to see them look so dejected was heart-wrenching. Even though the woman opened her mouth several times to speak, she said nothing: every word of consolation would have seemed bitter and hollow when she thought about the situation the Harmony Twins were stuck in.

Will also felt bad for the twins: he knew how important the Titans were to her, so to be spurned by them in any way would be undoubtedly hurtful. On top of that, when the circumstances behind the present situation were considered, it was doubly cruel: the twins had wanted nothing more than to be reunited with their friends, but now—in a moment that should have served as a beautiful reunion—the blondes seemed more alone than ever.

Patrokalos walked toward the door of the spare room, preparing to head back to the bathroom and get dressed.

Persephone headed back to the living room, preparing to wait for her brother.

Though their faces were completely devoid of expression, they were suffering internally. Patrokalos felt as though his heart had been torn from his chest because of the way Raven had reacted upon seeing him, and Persephone felt as though her own heart was chipping around the edges. As the two of them walked toward the door, staring vacantly at the floor and not really paying attention to where they were going, William grabbed their arms.

Percy and Patty stopped in their tracks, long blonde hair flowing around their torsos as they looked at Will.

Their blank expressions really tore at the man.

"I know she's happy to see you…" William said, his voice steadfast and encouraging.

"Were you paying attention?" Persephone asked monotonously, blue eyes frighteningly devoid of emotion. "Did you not see how she acted?"

"She's terrified of us," Patrokalos stated blankly, expression mirroring his twin's. "Every time we got close to her, she ran away."

"You have to understand," Will replied earnestly. "Until a few minutes ago, she thought that you were dead, and for the last few weeks you have been out of commission at the Jump City Medical Center. Did you ever think that maybe, during that time, she started trying to deal with losing you?"

Their expressions changed from being full of emotionless heartache to an identical pondering gaze: neither of them had stopped to consider the situation from Raven's point of view or tried to imagine how they would feel if they'd been placed in Raven's situation. While one always imagined reuniting with a dearly departed loved one to be a joyous occasion, few ever stopped to think of the shock that would accompany such a reunion.

"If I was in her position," Will stated with a small smile. "I would be pretty freaked out… I would have probably reacted the same way she did—minus the destruction, granted."

"You have to understand something about Raven…" Persephone stated softly, hoping that Will and Rebecca wouldn't hold what had happened against the Empath. "Her powers are controlled by her emotions, just like ours are: she has to meditate constantly to keep her feelings in check. If her emotions are out of balance—not working together in harmony—then she loses total control of her powers. She doesn't mean to do it, but it _does_ happen every once and a while. I wish I could have had a dollar every time my tofu blew up in my face thanks to Beast Boy."

Will and Rebecca couldn't help but laugh at the last comment since both of the twins smiled.

"I'm going to change into the dress you gave me, then I'll help you clean up this mess. It's mostly our fault anyway," Persephone said plainly, patting her brother's shoulder before the two of them walked out of the room, leaving Will and Rebecca alone together amidst the destruction. Rebecca turned toward Will, who was standing at the doorway with a weird smile plastered on his face.

"You seem to be taking this all in stride. Most people would be pretty upset about all of this…" Rebecca said candidly, started straightening the covers on the bed. Will walked over to the bed and helped Rebecca straighten out the covers and put it back on its frame, and pushed it back into place.

"Is my brother going to kill me?" Will asked his voice still brimming with satisfaction, "Yeah, he will probably be mad at me, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm a part of something greater than myself. You know, everyday I wake up and I go to work—and while I love my job—it becomes routine; I work with a lot of different patients who come and go, walking out of my life as fast as they come into it... but this… being able to help the twins… it's so much more meaningful than anything I've ever done before. I want to help them."

Rebecca nodded assent: working as a nurse was a rewarding profession since, quite often, she encountered people at their worst and was able to help them be well again. Yet there was something different about what they were doing to help the twins… something nobler about it.

"I'm going to get a broom or something for the glass…" Will said flatly, waggling his eyebrows. "Be back in just a second."

Rebecca stared out of the broken windows, casting her gaze on Jump City. It was mid-afternoon now, and the sun was at its zenith; the entire city was bathed in golden light. A cold breeze blew from the north, sending a chill through the nurse's body; the warmth of the sun truly belied the bitter cold of the winter air. She sighed heavily as she stared out at the City, simply enjoying the view.

She could hear footsteps approaching from down the hallway and quickly snapped herself from her reverie, believing that it was merely Will returning with a broom or a vacuum. Instead, she practically found herself standing face-to-face with a crimson-faced angel, who was now fully dressed in the black gown, an apron, and a cap which—surprisingly _and_ amusingly—looked like a maid outfit.

The girl seamed to be blushing from embarrassment, thankfully.

"That's a good look for you," Rebecca noted with a smirk.

"Yeah," Persephone stated flatly, blue eye twitching. "Can you tell my why William's niece had a Japanese maid outfit in her closet?"

"So it _is_ a maid outfit?" Becca asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Wow... I didn't _think_ it was."

"Yup, it is," Percy confirmed, blue eyes going half-lidded. "I saw a few of these in a cosplay shop while we were in Japan. My brother made fun of me."

"And why should I stop?" Patty asked, stepping up behind her and giving her a gentle noogie. "You look so... so... _nerdy_ in that maid outfit!"

"For the last time, I'm not a _nerd!"_ Percy wailed, smacking her brother playfully. "I'm an intellectual! I'm not a nerd, and _definitely_ not a maid!"

Becca let out a mischievous giggle before Will returned carrying a broom, dustpan, duct tape, and a few garbage bags.

"Sounds like you guys are having fun in here…" Will chuckled, looking at Percy with a devilish grin upon his face. "Well, I hate to impose but let's get this cleaned up. Guys, can you sweep up the glass while Rebecca and I tape these garbage bags over the… well… non-windows?"

"Yeah," the twins laughed at the same time; with the four of them working together, cleaning up the room took only about twenty minutes. Once they were finished, it looked pretty close to normal, save the garbage bag full of what were once windows.

"That's definitely good enough for me," Will said with a yawn, stretching his arms over his head. "Man, I'm beat."

Rebecca, Patty, and Persephone all nodded in agreement: they hadn't slept a wink since Slade had attacked the Jump City Medical Center.

The fatigue was beginning to wear on them.

"I think some rest would do us all some good," Rebecca replied as her doe brown eyes began to flutter drowsily. The four of them stood in the spare room in total silence for a few minutes minute, too tired to muster the energy to move. They looked back and forth at each other, as though they were mentally deciding who should sleep where. Persephone finally raised her tiny hand, meekly glancing up at her brother.

"I call the couch," the girl peeped.

**TXXXXXT**

"Azarath… Metrion…Xinthos! Azarath… Metrion… Xinthos!" Raven continued chanting her mantra as she levitated a few inches off of the cold surface of the apartment building's roof. The frigid wind nipped at her exposed skin as she meditated, but she paid no heed. Instead, she tried—with great difficulty—to find her center after being inundated with an onslaught of unbridled emotions and painful memories.

The visions replayed in her head interminably, no matter how hard she tried to force them away.

She saw the darkened figure approach—its eyes burning like brimstone—staring down at her indifferently. She could feel the nocturnal chill descending over her body, which was growing colder and colder by the second. The pain, which racked her body completely, pulsating agonizingly with every heartbeat, grew evermore prominent and intense. Her only consolation throughout the course of events was the astral sky above, smiling down on her as she lay on the cold asphalt. Raven lowered herself to the surface of the roof and stood up, staring out at the Jump City skyline, which was bathed in the afternoon light: she stood, completely perplexed by the cryptic series of disjointed images and disembodied sentiments which overcame her.

There was only one thing that she knew for sure.

Patrokalos and Persephone were alive.

She remembered taking the boy's hand, grasping it firmly for only a second. In that time, some of her memories and experiences had shot into her like a current of electricity. Under normal circumstances, controlling the undesirable aspects of her powers was commonplace; however, due to extreme fatigue and lack of meditation, she had been unable to control her empathic abilities.

"The visions… the feelings associated with them…" Raven muttered to herself. "They were so vivid, and so… terrifying… that I have no desire to revisit them again. However, the twins are alive… that should be enough for me. It's more than I could ever hope for… but I need to know how it's possible. I need answers… and my only leads are those… visions."

Raven took a deep breath and swallowed hard, not really looking forward to what she was about to do. Rather than try to avoid the images, as she had been attempting to do, or push them aside as instinct told her to, she was going to delve more deeply into them; to concentrate all of her energy on them in hopes of uncovering more. She sat in the lotus position on the rooftop of the apartment building and gently levitated into the air. She took a few more deep breaths, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, completely relaxing her muscles.

She outstretched her arms and closed her eyes, not yet sure whether or not she would like what she was about to uncover.

"Azarath… Metrion… Xinthos!" she croaked.

As Raven spoke, her entire body became encased in negative energy, preparing to go down the rabbit hole in search of clarity. Raven levitated in the air, her body enveloped in her dark energy, breathing in and out rhythmically. She inhaled deeply through her nose, completely filling her lungs before slowly exhaling through her mouth. She began to feel her muscles relaxing as her heart rate slowed considerably. As she reached a languid state, she concentrated deeply—focusing all of her energy—on the visions she had experienced when she'd initially touched Patty's hand.

_Raven opened her eyes to find herself standing on the Jump City Bridge. The last vestiges of sunlight were waning in the west. Crickets and cicadas began to chirp merrily in the distance as the warmth the sun provided was replaced with a cool autumnal chill. Raven quickly scanned the surface of the bridge, finding that it had been completely destroyed. The surface of the road was strewn with rubble, which surrounded a sizable gap in the bridge itself. Vehicles, both abandoned and destroyed, lined the pavement. Some of the wrecked cars and trucks, which resembled little more than twisted hunks of steel, smoldered; black smoke lifting into the twilight sky, blowing carelessly in the breeze. _

_Raven moved closer toward the epicenter of the devastation, fearing what she would find there. _

_As she weaved in between abandoned and disabled vehicles, she noticed a few larger pieces of debris. Large hunks of rock and rebar lay haphazardly on the pavement. Raven looked to her left and right, wondering how such large pieces of concrete could have wound up in such an odd place. Upon further examination, she noticed that one of the bridge's concrete pillars was smashed, completely pulverized. She speculated momentarily as to what—other than a wrecking ball—could have caused such destruction, but as she walked around the enormous slabs of rock and twisted metal, her thoughts turned toward a smaller pile of debris but a few feet away, where a small, bloodied hand was jutting from the wreckage. _

_Raven quickly rushed to the pile, heart pounding feverishly. _

_Though she knew she wasn't going to like what she was about to see, she knew that she needed to see it. As she approached the side of the mound of rubble, she was taken aback by the sight of blood staining the surface of the stones; dark red arterial blood. She could feel her stomach churn a little, but pressed forward until she was standing directly over the ruinous heap. _

_What she saw tore at her heart._

_Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius lay amidst a pile of pulverized stones and jagged chunks of metal: the top of their titan uniforms were shredded, revealing a blood-stained bra and abdomen on Percy and a chest that was covered in deep lacerations from the falling debris on patty. The blonde boy's left leg was pinned under a sizable slab of concrete and his body was twisted in an awkward fashion; the blonde girl's arm was bent practically in half and had been pinned against her back as she lay twisted under a large metal beam. _

_Raven felt her breath die within her chest as horrified tears brimmed her eyes. She averted her gaze from the blondes' terrible wounds to their faces. The twins were semi-conscious, staring up at the twilight sky with tears in their sparkling blue eyes. A deep gash above Patty's right eye oozed blood freely, which trickled down the side of his ashen face; a similar gash had been opened above Percy's left eye. The twins were breathing spasmodically and faintly; Raven winced every time one of them drew in a breath. As she looked down upon their crumpled forms, she wanted nothing more than to hold the hurting teenagers in her arms. Raven stood over them for a second more, chilled by the cool east wind. _

_She could feel hollow pangs of guilt beginning to crawl through her insides, gnawing at her feverishly. _

_She began to look back on that night and how it could have played out differently._

_"If I could have held onto that truck," Raven said gruffly, scolding herself, "this never would have happened. If I'd known how badly they were hurt, I never would have left. I would have tried to heal them… it may not have helped, but it would have been better than going on a wild goose chase."_

_Raven's moment of self-flagellation was cut short by the sound of light footsteps approaching the pile of rubble in the near-darkness; though the steps were soft and gentle, they echoed, shattering the stillness of the night. Raven quickly whirled back around to get a better look at the nebulous dark figure from her previous visions.  
What Raven saw unnerved her._

_She saw—not a dark or shadowy figure—but Robin, standing above the twins with a worrisome look on his face. He stood in silence, seemingly calculating his next move. She looked deeply into his mask, which were ablaze with contemplation; as though the gears were turning, mulling over a decision. _

_"Robin, please..." Percy mewled with a catlike sob, diverting Raven's attention to her face. _

_"Help us..." Patty begged, hand twitching out to the dark-haired boy. The twins were struggling to hold out their hands to their leader, but after a few more moments of intense rumination, Robin looked down at the ground, hanging his head in shame._

_"I'm sorry, Harmony Twins…" he said quietly and woefully, turning around with a wave. "I wish there was some other way."_

_As quickly as he came, he left, turning toward the large gap in the center of the Jump City Bridge in pursuit of Cinder Block. _

_The Boy Wonder nimbly traversed the hole in the structure, making it to the other side with ease before disappearing into the night. Raven could feel her heart plummeting, a few tears stinging her cheeks, cooled by the brisk autumnal breeze. It was completely dark now, and the crescent moon hung solemnly in the astral sky, which smiled upon the city. The sound of the water below gently washing to and fro filled the air soothingly; similarly, the crickets continued to sing their melodies harmoniously. As Raven looked down upon the angels, she couldn't help but feel her heart crack._

_The twins continued slipping in and out of consciousness as they cried. In one moment, they were alert and coherent, and in the next they were disoriented. Their breaths grew even shorter and they began to cough up blood, which dried on their soft lips and around their mouths. Raven knelt next to the twins as they stared blankly at the stars above with streaming blue eyes. Raven looked at the fallen angels with tears in her eyes. _

_"They left us here…" Patrokalos whispered brokenly; his lower lip, which was completely coated in dry blood, began to quiver as warm tears began spilling down his ashen cheeks, leaving a trail in the blood that had crusted there. "They… they abandoned us… like everyone else."_

_"I… I thought they loved us," Persephone whined, slowly turning her head to look at her brother with shattered blue eyes filled with pain. "I... guess I was wrong. We've... only had each other from the start... and since we... were alone in the beginning... I guess, in the end... that's where we'll be."_

_"I love you, Persephone," Patty sobbed, letting out a wet wheezing noise that made Raven wince. "I'm sorry."_

_"So am I..." the blonde girl whispered, closing her own eyes; a single tear slid down her cheek. "I wish I could have told Beast Boy I loved him just one more time... I know he'll blame himself if we die here tonight. He'll sit quietly until it crushes his heart, just like with Terra."_

_"I wish I could have told Raven that my heart was hers the moment I saw her," Patty laughed sadly, then choked a bit. "I love her."_

_"I'm so sorry, you guys," Raven whispered to herself. "I promise… I'll do everything in my power to try and make things right."_

_With that, she stood up silently and pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head, ensconcing her features in darkness. _

_She levitated off of the surface of the bridge slightly, her eyes burning white-hot._

_"Azarath… Metrion… Xinthos!" she cried._

In an instant, Raven opened her eyes and drew in a deep breath before falling roughly to the roof of the apartment building. Twilight was quickly approaching, and the sight of the Jump City skyline at sunset was truly one to behold; Raven, however, was too vexed to appreciate its beauty.  
Raven lay on the surface of the roof, chilled by the frigid gusts of wind that were swirling around her. She breathed heavily, practically panting, as she tried to collect herself. Slowly and methodically, she lifted herself up slightly with her hands before slowly getting to her knees and then her feet.

She walked to the edge of the roof, grabbing hold of the railing to steady herself as she looked out upon Jump City.

"How could Robin do such a thing?" Raven asked herself mournfully, unable to understand how her leader could make such a heartless decision. "How could he lie to the rest of us for so long, about something so terrible, with a straight face?"

Raven could feel her anger beginning to assert itself, but she reined it back: though she hadn't completely found her center, dealing with the troublesome visions had done much to clear her mind. Though she had hoped to find clarity through probing the visions, she wound up with only more questions.

Questions that had nearly broken her.


	34. Chapter 33: Reluctant Lullaby

**Chapter Thirty Three: Reluctant Lullaby**

Persephone D'Andesyrius lay restlessly on the couch, staring at the ceiling with empty blue eyes. Even though she was thoroughly exhausted, her mind simply refused to cooperate and shut off: her thoughts would race around all at once, overwhelming the angel and jolting her from sleep every time she closed her eyes. The girl slowly ran her fingers through her soft blonde hair before rubbing her vibrant blue eyes; she sighed in frustration, clearly peeved that she was tired and unable to get any rest. Instead, the girl took a few deep breaths, slowly breathing in and out. She folded her hands over her stomach and took a deep breath before letting it out.

Meditation was a perfect way to help herself fall asleep.

The girl's eyelids began to feel heavy as she sank deeper and deeper into the soft fabric of the couch; though it was merely a couch, it was far superior to the hospital bed to which she had grown accustomed. Percy closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander, realizing that sleep was a forlorn hope: in the back of her mind, she knew that—in a few short hours—she and Patrokalos would have to make the biggest decision of their entire lives; Slade had made them an offer that only a fool would refuse.

"_As they say, teamwork divides the task at hand and multiplies the opportunity for success. Together, you and I could change this city…tear it down and rebuild it as we see fit. United, no one could oppose us. We could be the masters of all before us… and you would be my queen."_

"I'd rather die than become anyone's queen," the girl muttered, shuddering violently. "I'd burn in hell before it was Slade."

Yet, the masked man's words still continued to reverberate within her mind, vexing her greatly.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been easy to ignore any offer Slade brought to the table: he was an insidious and treacherous individual, evil all the way down to the core; his sadistic, self-serving ways made him a threat to Jump City. Percy was stuck with the frustrated puzzlement since she was still trying to make sense of Slade's intentions. The angel was wondering why she and her brother were so important to Slade's plan. Other criminals—prominent criminals—would have jumped at the opportunity to work with a heavy hitter like him, so it simply didn't make sense for Slade to take a chance—potentially risking the cohesiveness of his plan—to wager on converting two heroes to villainy.

As Percy lay thinking about all that had transpired, another perplexing thought came to mind: Slade had risked quite a bit coming out to make his proposition in the flesh. It would have been much easier and much safer for him to send one of his Slade-bots to deliver the message, and he had to have known this... yet he'd disregarded his own safety during his visit to the Jump City Medical Center.

_Why would he come out of hiding like that?_ Percy wondered silently, wracking her brain for some form of clarity on the issue. _Did he want to prove to my brother and me that his offer was serious? Did he figure that sending one of his drones was too impersonal? Is he trying to lure us into a false sense of security? I really need to think this through… Slade isn't exactly known for keeping his promises, and he says he wants Patty and me to be his partners—that together we can accomplish whatever we desire—but… I'm not sure that's what I want to do with my life. Better yet, I don't want to risk anyone else I love over this... I can't lose anyone else._

The Angelic teenager sighed heavily, not knowing whether she was on the right track or simply making mountains out of molehills.

"We can hear each other's thoughts, you know," Patty grumbled from across the room, where he lay sprawled out on the couch. "Think a bit quieter, please... my poor brain is being totally fried by all of your nonsensical questions."

"Oh, shush, you," Percy muttered, flapping a dismissive hand before she rolled over and faced away from him; the girl continued lying down with her eyes closed before she finally gave up on sleeping: she opened her eyes with a sigh and sat up, stretching her arms over her head with a yawn. She sleepily rubbed her eyes, still lost in the labyrinth of her own mind as she smoothed her dress out.

_I'll never forget what Robin did to us…_ the angel thought as she got up to get a drink of water. _I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive him for that. I'm still so angry… I just wish he could know how it feels. He thinks he's the greatest... that he's always right and everyone should listen to him. Maybe it's time someone brought him down a notch so he can see how wrong he is._

Persephone grabbed a glass cup that was lying next to the sink, and turned on the faucet, filling the glass with water.

She gulped it down quickly, yet still savored its refreshing coldness.

_Slade's no better… we'd be exchanging one devil for another,_ Patrokalos tiredly out pointed as she set her glass in the sink. _We can't keep doing this, Percy. I'm tired of fighting… I'm tired of losing everyone and everything that I love. We need to stop this._

_I agree,_ Persephone replied, nodding with pensive blue eyes before she walked back over to the couch and flopped down. She glanced out a nearby window with her hair covering her upper body like a blanket as she took in the sunset. _Our lives have been a constant struggle… we've always tried so hard to do the right thing, to be the best people we can possibly be, but in the end... just like everything we've ever done... it's never enough._

"We need to figure this out," Patty muttered, sitting up and smacking the pillow in distress. "I hate it!"

Persephone sighed and got to her feet before walking over to a window near the couch and standing in front of it, watching the last vestiges of sunlight pass beneath the horizon; the dying daylight still lingered in the sky momentarily, like a crescendo. Tears came to her eyes as the last of the sunset slipped away, leaving the dark of night to assert itself in its stead. The first stars of the evening began to glimmer softly in the sky, complimented by the vestal moon.

"I agree," Persephone stated quietly, turning around and looking at her brother with cold blue eyes. "This is it… tonight we're going to wipe our hands clean of everything we've done and start over fresh. By sunrise tomorrow, everything will be different… _we'll_ be different. We can put our pasts to bed and start concentrating on what's to come… we can live our lives on our own terms."

"Together," Patrokalos agreed, blue eyes hardening into frigid gemstones. "We'll forge on ahead."

Percy looked at the moon when it was slowly revealed and shuddered. Even though she had always taken refuge in the darkness and found something beautiful in the moon, it reminded her of being pinned underneath the rubble, clinging to life itself. She grimaced, but continued to stare at it, undeterred. As the light poured through the window, bathing her in its soft luminescence, the girl continued to peer out of the window. For the first time in weeks, her mind was able to wander away freely without nagging doubts or pressing concerns to besmirch his solace. At that moment, standing in front of the living room window and staring out at the moon, Percy was at peace. She was so enveloped in her own tranquility that she didn't hear William approaching her from behind.

"We have company," Patty muttered quietly.

"Up so soon, Sleepyhead?" Will asked jokingly.

Percy practically jumped out of her skin from fright.

"Y-yeah… I was just… you know… thinking about things. I guess I've got a lot on my mind," Percy peeped, heart racing from the shock.

Will strutted to the refrigerator, pulled out a carton of milk, and began to drink from the carton.

"I sort of figured that was the reason," Will said once he was finished chugging it, concern present in his tone. "From the way you and Patty were yawning earlier, I figured you would have slept for a while longer. What's on your mind?"

"Between having to decide how to handle this situation with Slade, worrying about Raven, and thinking of what the future holds for us, we've both had quite a bit to work out," Patty deadpanned, sitting up with a tired glare. "There's a lot on our minds, trust me."

Will wiped his face with his forearm and put the milk carton back in the refrigerator. He walked from the kitchen into the living room and stood next to Percy at the window, looking out into the night.

"You guys need to stop second guessing yourselves," Will said softly and reassuringly. "I was in the hospital room when Slade threatened you two, and you both stood your ground. That takes guts. I'm not worried about your decision. I know that you've both been… wavering lately. You've been wondering whether or not heroism is worth the pain and suffering you've been subjected to. You've been feeling low about some inevitable misfortunes that have occurred along the way. All of that is completely understandable, but still... I'm not worried. You may not realize it, but you guys are the strongest people I have met: in the short time I've known you guys, you've been through more hell than most people endure in a lifetime; through it all, you had smiles on your faces and an upbeat attitude. If you can do that, anything is possible, so I know you'll make the right choice when the time comes."

A hush swept over the three of them; a sort of unspoken mutual understanding. Will meant every word that he'd said, believing whole-heartedly in the twins. Similarly, Percy and Patty both appreciated the vote of confidence: knowing that someone believed in them so strongly did much to reassure them. Their lingering doubts and qualms—while still present—were greatly diminished upon hearing Will's soothing words.

"Thanks," Percy sighed, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

"We appreciate it," Patty added just as softly.

"No problem... but have you guys spoken with Raven yet?" Will asked softly; Percy ran a hand through her waist-length blonde hair and sighed, shooting a look at her brother and wincing when she saw that he was staring off into space. The girl still felt badly about how things had played out when Raven had first seen them: Patty had nearly been crushed.

"Not yet, but Patty should probably go up there and make sure that she is okay," Percy stated, feeling rather ashamed of herself for not showing more initiative. " Hopefully she'll want to talk to him. Have you seen her? Do you know where she is?"

"Come to think of it, I don't think she ever came inside," Will said, clearly shocked. "She's been out there for a couple of hours now. Do you think that she's alright?"

"If you give Raven peace and quiet, she can meditate for hours," Percy said, giggling lightly. "She was the one who taught us how to meditate, so I know... but it's definitely colder than it looks outside. She'll probably be so deep in it that she won't notice."

"Maybe I should take her a blanket and a cup of tea?" Patty suggested, lifting a hand as his sister sent him a silent message.

Will's eyes lit up, proud that the boy was finally going to make his move and work things out with Raven. He dashed into the kitchen and began to look through the various cupboards until he came across a box of Chai tea. He took the teakettle from the stove, filled it with water, and placed it on one of the burners. He turned the corresponding knob on the stove, waiting for the burner to light.

"Hmm…? The stove isn't working. Odd. Well, I guess that's what microwaves are for!" Will chuckled, filling up a large plastic container with water before he placed it in the microwave and hit a series of buttons; the microwave kicked on, droning softly. Will quickly moved from the kitchen to the living room, gesturing for the twins to follow him. "My brother keeps the extra blankets and stuff in here, I'll go in and grab you one to take to Raven. Rebecca is probably still asleep."

The three of them walked back into the kitchen as the microwave dinged, signaling that the water was ready. Will reached in, took hold of the container, and poured the searing hot water into a large, stainless steel travel mug. He then added two of the teabags and screwed the lid on tightly. He handed Patrokalos the large travel mug of tea: the angel, armed with the mug and the large flannel blanket, turned and walked toward the door to the apartment while his sister waved with solemn eyes. Patty took a deep breath, still on edge about approaching Raven and discussing all that had occurred, and swallowed hard as he reached the door.

"The roof access door is straight down the hall," Will said gently, hoping to comfort the boy. "It's the only door, so it's hard to miss."

Patrokalos smiled sheepishly and opened the door, exiting the apartment and clearly worried about what was to come. He shut the door quietly as he left, leaving Will and Percy alone in the apartment. The two of them stared at the doorway Patty had just exited.

"Go get your girl…" Will said firmly.

"Good luck, Pat," Percy whispered, turning her eyes away with trembling lips. "I'll meet you up there when you're done."

**TXXXXXT**

Robin sat in the infirmary of Titan's Tower, watching the news.

He felt utterly helpless and equally guilty as he watched extended coverage of the devastation to the Jump City Fuel Company. The reporters did a very good job of trying to sound reassuring amidst the calamity. Throughout the news report, the on-scene camera crews cut to visuals of the completely demolished site; what was once a stately looking building was now reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble, metal, and shattered glass.

Robin's stomach continued to tie itself in knots as he watched, feeling solely responsible for letting down Jump City. Robin winced in pain as he turned toward the clock in the corner of the computer screen; his back and shoulders were still in intense pain from the explosion. The clock displayed the time as 9:13 p.m.; Robin's heart began to sink, as he knew he had just over two hours to decide what to do. As the television continued to blare indiscriminately, Robin sank his head into his folded arms and began to ponder his current predicament.

_"You cannot run away from the truth forever, nor can you hide it from your friends. They will find out about your deception and the Titans will be no more. What will become of you then, Robin? Think of your future, Robin. Consider what is best for you. Meet me tomorrow at midnight at the Jump City National Bank. Oh, and Robin…? Don't be late."_

Robin shuddered as the words of his nemesis rang in his ears hollowly. It was bad enough to deal with Slade under any circumstances, but the characteristics of this particular instance made the situation much worse.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ Robin thought, chiding himself. _The twins were my friends! They trusted me wholeheartedly and I let them down. I… betrayed them. If the tables had been turned… if I had been injured—Patrokalos and Persephone would have moved mountains to save me. They've done it before, and they'd have done it again in a heartbeat... yet, in their most desperate hour, when they needed me the most, I turned my back on them and walked away._

Robin grit his teeth against immense pain as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his bare feet on the cold linoleum floor. He grunted as he lifted himself out of bed. He almost crumpled to the floor as he began to walk, his legs still weak and shaky. After a few feeble steps, however, he righted himself and began to walk slowly across the room, toward the large bay window. Robin stood before the large window gazing out at Jump City—his city—planning his next move.

_I hate to admit it,_ Robin thought to himself while gazing out upon the serene nocturne, _but Slade is right… Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire will eventually figure out what happened that night. They'll know that I deliberately deceived them and simply did nothing while the twins bled to death. They'll never forgive me for that… they'll never trust me again. If I could do things differently, I would, but even I can't change the past. I'm going to have to live with my mistake for the rest of my life. I know I'll never be able to make up for it completely, I have to do everything that I can to honor their memory. I can't take the easy way out anymore: that's how I got into this mess… doing what was easy. Joining up with Slade would be taking the easy way out; a partnership with him would only make a bad situation worse. He thinks that—because I've tried to hide the truth from my friends—that I'm willing to endanger humanity as well. THAT is where he is wrong. I know what I need to do… no matter how it pains me._

As Robin continued to ruminate in the moonlight, he heard voices approach from down the hall. Wasting no time, he scurried silently across the room and quickly got into bed just as the door to the Infirmary swung open revealing Cyborg and Starfire. Both the Mechanical man and the Tamaranian girl looked despondent and worried.

"Still no sign of her?" Robin asked, his voice saturated with concern.

"No…" Cyborg replied grimly, clearly downtrodden. "Star and I swept the whole city a couple of times. We stopped at all of the hospitals that she visited and asked some questions, but didn't get much out of it."

"Much?" Robin asked, his voice trilling slightly.

"Well, Star and I think that the last place Raven visited was Jump City Medical Center, downtown," Cyborg continued, tone becoming hoarse as his eyes filled with fear. "Turns out that it had been attacked a few hours ago…"

Robin began to feel a chill crawl up his spine.

"Slade?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes," Starfire responded, clearly troubled and appearing on the verve of tears. "Cyborg and I asked many questions and came across a man named Mark who was most helpful. Mark explained to us that several—as he put it—"mechanical-looking things" forced their way through the hospital and attacked one of the doctors."

Robin looked at Starfire, completely confused by what she had reported.

"Why would Slade go to all that trouble to attack a doctor?" Robin asked, completely beside himself with confusion.

"We know not," Starfire continued, her forceful tone belying her obvious discontent, "Cyborg and I intended to ask the doctor a few questions regarding the attack… but…"

Starfire trailed off, unable to continue; she was clearly troubled by the fact that Raven was missing, and she had no desire to lose yet another of her friends. Cyborg put his hand on Starfire's shoulder soothingly and tried his best to calm her down.

"Slade beat the doctor into a coma," Cyborg continued. "The hospital is confident he'll pull through, but can't put a time-frame on it. All they would tell us is that his name is Doctor Samuel Andrews and he's a renowned heart surgeon and respiratory specialist."

"What could he possibly have had that Slade would want?" Robin asked quizzically, baffled by Slade's random act of violence.

"We don't know," Cyborg replied, shaking his head in frustration, "and we won't know until he comes around, but... as we picked Mark's brain, we found out that he did have an encounter with Raven."

"Yes! Raven came to the assistance of the hospital and pursued Slade. However, that was all we were able to uncover," Starfire said, slightly more excitedly; an all-pervading silence swept over the Infirmary and an overwhelming feeling of dread began to creep into the hearts of the Titans, who were beside themselves with worry. Losing someone could do that to a hero: it made them worry more.

"Until we have proof to suggest otherwise," Robin said in an authoritarian tone. "We need to assume the worst. Slade could very well be holding Raven against her will… or she could be wounded…"

Robin's voice trailed off as he did not want to mention the third distinct possibility. Cyborg and Starfire merely stared at him, understanding what he was alluding to but refusing to acknowledge it.

"Well," Cyborg said optimistically, "Her communicator is currently offline, but I have the frequency isolated. If she activates her communicator, the coordinates will be sent to me. Until then, all we can do is play the waiting game. Star and I are going to take a quick break and grab something to eat, but after that we are going to go search some more."

Robin nodded and sighed heavily, feeling—not only responsible—but completely powerless to help.

Starfire quickly took note of Robin's distress and tried her best to comfort him.

"Fear not, Robin. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and I will bring Raven back. You merely need to focus on feeling better!" Starfire said, as she approached her beau and ran her fingers through his hair. She smiled widely, hoping to put his mind at rest before exiting the room.

"Star's right, man," Cyborg replied earnestly. "We're gonna to do everything we can to find her. We've got it covered. I'll be sure to keep you informed of what's going on. Just try to relax…"

With that, Cyborg exited the room—allowing the mechanical door to slide shut behind him and leaving Robin alone in the Infirmary; the domicile quickly began to feel like a prison cell to him. Robin looked over at the clock once more, allowing the pain to once again sweep over his body. He noticed that the clock read 9:47 p.m. now; his meeting with Slade was rapidly approaching.

"Yeah," Robin muttered sarcastically. "Relax…"

**TXXXXXT**

Patrokalos silently headed down the darkened corridor, mind continuing to race as he approached the door at the end of it—clearly denoted by the large, red exit sign glowing above the entryway. The blonde boy was wondering how he was going to explain everything to Raven since she would obviously have questions about how they'd survived.

Then she would probably wonder why the twins hadn't contacted the Titans, and she would definitely want answers.

Worse still, she would want the truth; in this particular case, Patty knew that the truth was toxic. If word of what had happened to him and Percy spread, the Titans could very well fall apart from within its own safe walls—leaving Jump City unprotected during the time everyone needed them the most.

Patrokalos stopped just before he opened the door at the end of the hall and tied his hair back into a ponytail: the glistening locks were beginning to annoy him with how they constantly fell into his eyes, so he merely tied his hair back and out of his face. When he finished, he opened the door and was greeted by a flight of metal stairs that led to another door with an exit sign above it.

The male angel shook his head and walked up the stairs with bated breath; when he reached the door, he took one last deep breath and tried to appear outwardly calm and collected before he timidly opened the door and stepped out onto the rooftop. Raven was sitting on the far corner and hovering above the ground in the lotus position, palms toward the sky. Patty hesitantly made his way across the roof, not wanting to make too much noise or startle her by accident: he remembered how much she hated it.

He continued to walk gingerly until he was within earshot of the Empath.

"R-raven? Are… you okay…?" Patty asked, speaking so softly that his voice was barely above a whisper; he was still carrying the travel mug and blanket, but his large hands were gripping them tightly. Raven didn't flinch at first; she continued her meditation on the peace and quiet of the apartment building's roof. Patty could feel the butterflies squirming around in his stomach as he took a few more steps in Raven's direction. "R-raven? It's okay if you don't wanna talk to me… I understand. I figured I would bring you some hot tea and a blanket, though. It's… kind of cold out here…"

Patty's voice trailed off and he worriedly hunched his shoulders when Raven turned her head and looked up at him. Her soft features were aglow beneath the astral sky; her violet eyes shimmered, practically swimming with emotion. Patty's heart suddenly felt as though it had stopped; in that moment, he didn't know what he would do if the girl before him wasn't happy to see him...

Aside from the fact that his heart would break, he couldn't say.

"Thank you…" Raven said in her usual deadpan, a ghost of a smile appearing upon her face; when Patty hesitantly handed her the blanket and the large mug of tea, she couldn't help but notice the sorrow in the blonde boy's eyes. It was a palpable anguish, and it really troubled her. Patty feigned a small smile, trying his best to put Raven's mind at rest, but the Empath easily saw through the ruse and merely stared at him. A noticeable silence descended between the half-demon and the angel.

A chill gust of wind swept by, howling angrily and cutting through the stillness of the night.

Patty looked down at Raven, who stared at him questioningly.

Raven's heart began to sink when she realized that she couldn't discern what they boy was thinking from his expression any longer: it seemed as though he had gotten better at hiding his pain from everyone. Patty smiled and nodded at her, taking the girl's reticence as a plea for solitude: the tall boy turned around and began walking toward the roof access door, but before he had even gone seven steps he hung his head hung in disappointment as he went, blonde hair twisting in the breeze.

As Raven watched Patrokalos trudge toward the door, all of her emotions began to tear at her at once.

She had never intended to drive the boy away through—what outwardly appeared to be—indifference. Though she seemed to be externally calm and placid, she was struggling within: all of her emotional aspects pulled her in different directions; their prodding building from an inaudible banter to a cacophonous droning. As Patty approached the roof access door, Raven's turmoil boiled over.

"Patrokalos, stop!" Raven hollered, getting to her knees, her face now swimming with longing and desperation. The girl stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face her, an expression of unhappiness still draped across her fragile face.

"Y-yes Raven?" Patty asked sheepishly, voice wavering.

The Empath remained on her knees, staring at him from across the rooftop. She was overjoyed that her boyfriend was alive; her heart was practically singing in his presence. On the other hand, numerous and burning questions were troubling her. The nefarious visions which had coursed into her mind like an electrical current had opened her eyes to everything that the twins had endured. At the same time, her quest for clarity piqued her curiosity; there were so many questions that she wanted to ask him… so much she wanted to know… to try to understand. For the first time since their reunion, they were alone. There was nothing but the darkness of the night and the chill on the air to come between them.

Raven motioned for the angel to sit at her side.

"We need to talk…" she stated flatly.

Patrokalos slowly came back and sat next to Raven on the roof of the apartment building, but at first the two said nothing to each other. The beauty of the Jump city skyline bathed in the benevolent moonlight served as a welcome distraction. The bitter wind continued to whip, whistling and howling—serving at the only disruption to the tranquility of the night. Raven took a few sips of her tea, savoring its blithe bitterness and wrapped the flannel blanket around her body tightly. She stole a glance at Patrokalos, who sat silently next to her; the blonde boy wore no expression as he stared at the stars above, which reflected in his sapphire blue eyes.

"Are you okay, Raven?" Patrokalos asked quietly, finally turning his head to face the pale girl. "I worried about you all day, and Persephone nearly had a heart attack from the stress. What happened earlier… when you… lost control?"

Raven took a deep breath to compose her thoughts as she turned her head to meet Patty's glittering gaze; sadness seemed to suffuse her expression as she took a moment to formulate her explanation properly.

"I was so shocked to see you and Percy that I was rushed by a flood of emotions that I couldn't control," Raven said simply; however, she stopped speaking for a moment and looked at Patty—who'd bit his lip and was returning her gaze fervently. "You see, because I haven't been able to sleep or meditate, when I touched your hand… I saw what happened to you and Percy… through your eyes."

Patrokalos flinched and his blue eyes widened in horror before he quickly looked away, shivering; he felt tremendously guilty that he had—even unwittingly—subjected Raven to such a horrific experience. Those memories… that pain… were theirs alone to bear.

"I'm sorry, Raven," Patrokalos whispered, covering his face as the guilt began washing over his chest; he felt awful about subjecting the girl he loved to that level of agony; he had seen firsthand the toll it had taken on his own sister. Patty sat like that, shivering and staring guiltily at the ground, until he felt a small hand gently touch his shoulder.

"No, Patty…" Raven replied sternly, mouth trembling despite her blank expression. "I'm the one who's sorry. If I'd known what had happened to you and Percy that night, I would have stayed with you instead of following Robin's orders. You two wouldn't have suffered so much because I would have been able to help you. I could have healed you."

"I understand, Raven," Patrokalos murmured, eyes becoming dark as he tried to reassure the girl. "You don't have to apologize to me or Persephone because there's nothing we can do to change what happened. The only important thing now is concentrating on the present and looking to the future. Nothing will happen if we all dwell on the past..."

Raven nodded slightly as she pulled the flannel blanket more tightly around herself. She took a few small sips from the large mug of tea that Patty had brought her. The angel's comment caused Raven's synapses to fire on all cylinders; though the past couldn't be changed, what could they do in the present to make sure that such a misfortune never occurred again?

"Patty, what do you and Percy want to do about Robin?" Raven asked. "He stood over you, knowing how badly you were hurt, and he still made a conscious decision to leave you to die—and then, he lied to the rest of the team about it. Surely something needs to be done."

"I'm not worried about Robin," Patrokalos stated firmly, deep voice becoming deeper as he shook his head. "Percy and I will deal with him when the time comes. I'm more concerned about you, Raven…"

"Me?" Raven asked disbelievingly, blinking at him a few times. "Why?"

"Well, you may be the strongest person I know, but that injury of yours is serious," Patty said softly, concern creeping into her otherwise soothing tone. "What were you doing at the Jump City Medical Center anyway?"

Raven pulled the flannel blanket—which was tightly wrapped around her body—open for a moment and gazed down at her bandaged abdomen. She had been able to heal it slightly as she meditated, but it had become clear that it was going to take some time for her to completely recover. The pulsating pain which accompanied the burn had thankfully been reduced to an aching twinge.

Raven took another sip of tea and pulled the blanket tightly around her once more.

"Last night," Raven began, staring at the night's sky for clarity as she spoke, "We received a message in Titan's Tower; it was from Slade. He told us that we had grown weak since your death…that we had been grieving too much and ignoring the city and—by extension—our duties. He hatched a plan attacking the city itself; choosing to target the infrastructure of Jump City rather than the Titans. He chose the Water Filtration Facility, The Power Authority, The Fuel Company, and Emergency Services. I was sent to sweep all of the hospitals in the area. I had already been to Jump City General and Jump City Memorial when it happened…"

Patty furrowed his thick eyebrows as he stared at the girl with confusion in his eyes.

"What happened, Raven?" he asked firmly, clearly wanting her to continue recanting the tale.

"I'd just started sweeping Jump City Memorial when I felt a tremor," Raven said despondently, as though she was reliving the experience interminably in her mind. "Not really an earthquake… but aftershock from an explosion. After that, I pulled out my communicator to check in with the others. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire all responded; Robin didn't. We quickly determined that the only two targets unaccounted for were the Jump City Fuel Company and the Jump City Medical Center; I needed to make sure that the hospital had been spared, so I flew across town; when I arrived, I found it under attack."

Patty's eyes lit up as he connected all of the dots.

"So that's why you were at JCMC…" the blonde boy murmured, feeling awed by the coincidence. "It's good that you showed up when you did; Slade's a creepy pervert, and he had Percy and me cornered. He was using Will and Rebecca as collateral."

"Will and Rebecca?" Raven said, voice trilling as she raised an eyebrow questioningly. At that moment, it occurred to Patrokalos that—while Raven had met them in the apartment—they had not met on the best of terms and had not been formally introduced. A smile washed across his face as he chuckled lightly, eyes lighting up the way they had before the accident.

"Friends of mine and Persephone's," Patty said simply, still getting over his laughing fit. "They took really good care of us when we were at our worst. Percy and I owe them quite a bit. You met them, actually… downstairs."

Raven winced as she recalled the encounter, and a light blush appeared on her cheeks as her embarrassment prevailed.

She felt bad about frightening them the way she had.

"You'll have to introduce me when we go back downstairs," Raven said with a slight smile, trying to mask her embarrassment. "I want to apologize… and thank them for all they have done. And remind me to squeeze Percy to death... she likes hugs apparently."

Patrokalos snickered and nodded in agreement, but silence descended upon the two as they sat silently, each deep in thought. Both had a great deal to be thankful for and much to think about; somehow—if only for a moment—simply being in each other's company was consolation enough.

"I am curious, though," Raven began, husky voice shattering the established silence. "Why was Slade after you this time?"

Patty drew in a long breath; he'd known that Raven had been intelligent enough to put the pieces together. Still, he had hoped to avoid broaching the subject and could feel his stomach doing somersaults as he prepared—albeit hesitantly—to answer Raven's question.

"Slade came to us…" Patty reluctantly began, "to offer us a partnership. He told us that we've made a lot of enemies and said that we could benefit greatly from working together. He told us that if 'the enemy of your enemy is your friend, I am the greatest friend you'll ever have.'"

Raven's heart sank and her mouth dropped open involuntarily; she stared at the boy in shock, not wanting to believe what she had just heard.

"You're not seriously considering this, are you?" she asked.

"Well, a part of me…" Patrokalos muttered unhappily, silently berating himself, "Some small part of me wanted to hear him out. As wrong and petty as it sounds, something inside of me yearns for revenge. The same goes for Persephone: we're both pissed at Robin."

Raven glanced over at Patrokalos—who was now staring at her, gauging her reaction with an expressionless countenance. She could tell that the blonde boy was greatly conflicted by what he'd felt and wanted to nudge him in the right direction without making him feel guilty for wanting vengeance, which—all too often—was a natural human reaction. Although... it was profound for angels and demons.

"Wanting retribution is understandable, Patrokalos," Raven remarked evenly. "However, what would it accomplish? It's pointless because, in the end, you and Percy wouldn't be able to live with yourselves; you wouldn't be able to feel good about yourselves. In the end, Slade would either betray you—or you would end up being his little slaves."

Patty hung her head, ashamed that he had ever even considered Slade's proposal. Raven's words had cut him deeply because he knew that the Empath was right; Raven could always be counted on for an unbiased and logical perspective.

"I know…" Patty replied earnestly, glancing up as his shoulders started shaking. "Deep down, I think I always knew that much—but that isn't the real reason why our face-to-face with Slade has been bothering us so badly!"

"What do you mean?" Raven asked inquisitively, unsure of what to expect.

"When he came to us," Patrokalos explained, clutching his hair in confused frustration, "he mentioned all of this stuff about Percy and I being the 'masters of our fate and making Percy his queen' and having the ability to 'tear the city down and rebuild it as we see fit.' If that was his goal, why would he send you on a wild goose chase around the city?"

Raven took another sip of tea and cupped her chin in her hand, staring at the surface of the roof, concentrating deeply. She began to run multiple scenarios through her mind, trying to decipher what Slade's motivation could have been; suddenly, her eyes widened as she turned to the angel with fear in her eyes.

"A diversion?" Raven remarked in disbelief. "If what happened last night was a diversion, what do you think he's planning?"

"I don't know… but whatever it is, it's big," Patty said sternly, seriousness flooding his tone. "Percy and I are going to find out."

"How?" Raven asked, perplexed by the certainty in the boy's voice. Patrokalos swallowed hard; he knew what he was about to suggest was going to be met with great opposition from the Empath, especially since Persephone had already agreed to it as well.

"When Slade approached us about joining him, he told Percy and I to come to the Jump City National Bank at midnight tonight," Patty said gravely. ""Maybe if he thinks we're accepting his offer, he might just let us in on what he has planned."

"NO! That is way TOO dangerous, Patty!" Raven shot back quickly and forcefully. "You guys aren't at full strength yet—and even if you were, this is Slade we are talking about! He could kill you, Patty! He could kill both you _and_ Percy!"

"Raven, there's no dispute about this," Patrokalos stated calmly. "We may not be at full strength yet, but we've grown so much in the last few weeks that I'm highly certain that we'll be fine. We can control gravity, time, the five elements of nature, and who knows what else besides, so we're perfectly capable of defending ourselves. Percy and I need to make sure the city is safe one last time."

"On last time?" Raven asked quizzically, as she shot the smaller girl a questioning glance. "What do you mean, 'one last time?'"

Patty remained reticent for a moment, thinking about how he and Percy had come to this decision earlier in the afternoon. He had spent a lot of time and put a lot of thought into making this choice; however he knew it would be difficult to explain it to Raven, so he took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"We're not joining Slade, but Percy and I don't think we can return to the Titans, either," Patrokalos stated, deep voice wavering slightly as he looked at Raven, waiting for her reaction. "Ever since I was a little kid, I've been hurt by everyone I got close to, and while I know that I've done a lot, I know that I've also missed out on a lot, too. It took almost dying for me to figure it out. I'm not going to let myself get close to anyone for a while aside from Persephone: we need each other in order to survive."

Raven sat in shock, unable to react because of how deeply Patty's words were resonating inside her.

As she stared at him, she could tell that the blonde boy was serious; he stared at her, unblinking.

"What about the rest of the team… your friends?" Raven asked, bothered by his revelation. "Once you and Persephone got out of the hospital, were you both just going to leave Jump City and let Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and myself all think you were dead?"

"What do you think would happen if Beast Boy, Cy, and Star found out about what Robin did?" Patrokalos asked seriously, looking at the Empath—whose lower lip began to tremble against her will. "The team would have broken apart and Jump City would have been left with no one to defend it. It would have been better for the—"

Before she could finish, Raven slapped him forcefully across the face. The boy's head snapped to the side, and he blanked out in pain for a moment. Blinking twice, Patrokalos brought his hand up and pressed it against his cheek as he looked at Raven with round blue eyes. He stared at Raven with trembling shoulders, who stared right back at him with tears in her violet eyes.

"How can you be so selfish?!" Raven yelled at him, incensed by the angel's uncharacteristic coldness. "Do we really mean that little to you?"

Raven glared into Patty's round, shocked eyes, still fuming; her anger, however, subsided into confusion when he saw anguish washing over the boy's face and his blue eyes began to fill with tears, which refracted the gentle moonlight.

"No," Patty stated hoarsely, looking away as tears began streaming down his face. "Percy and I were going to leave _because_ you all mean so much to us. We love you all, and because of that we don't want our family to fall apart. If we came back, that's what would happen: even if Percy and I tried to make the team forgive Robin for what he did, they wouldn't do it. We've changed, Raven… the accident didn't just scar our bodies. In a lot of ways, the happy-go-lucky twins you knew died that night, buried underneath tons of rubble and debris. I don't feel like a hero anymore and I don't want to put anyone at risk by faking it. We've been given a second chance at life and we want to make the most of it—but before we can start over, there's one last thing we need to do… face Slade."

"No…" Raven said emphatically, imploring Patrokalos to hear reason. "You and Percy don't have to do this."

"I do," Patty replied sternly. Raven looked at the crying boy with a tearful expression: she had just gotten her true love back, and she was petrified of losing him again. However, the Empath could see from his expression that the boy was resolute; there was no way she could sway him—and that meant her only hope was to bargain with him. She reached to her belt and pulled out her communicator.

"At least let me call the others so we can come with you!" Raven pleaded, clearly worried. "I don't want you guys to be alone."

Just as the Empath prepared to flip open her communicator and contact the rest of the Titans, Patty reached over and snatched it from her grasp with lightning reflexes. Raven looked at him, astonished by the blonde boy's brazenness.

"I have to do this, Raven… alone. I know you're worried, but I'm not afraid. I've stared death in the face; Slade doesn't scare me, or my sister: for us, there are only three things in this world that we fear," Patrokalos stated with a firm glare; only the sound of the whipping wind could be heard as the boy paused and hung her head. "For Percy... it's losing Beast Boy; for me, it's Losing you; and for the both of us... it's having the supernatural family who sheltered all this time us fall apart at the seams."

Raven's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the boy's proclamation and she threw her arms around him.

"Patrokalos, nothing is going to happen to me," Raven whispered.

Patrokalos closed her eyes as a few tears streamed down his face and dripped off his chin.

"I know," the boy whispered softly into her s ear.

Without warning, a surge of energy exploded around their bodies Patrokalos tightened his arms around Raven's middle—squeezing the breath from the startled Empath's lungs. The pale girl clamped her eyes shut as Patty continued to crush her, flailing against the angel's vice-like grip: finding that she was unable to free herself, Raven struggled mightily against the boy, unable to breathe.

Without warning, the sound of a haunting lullaby echoed in her ear as Patrokalos started to sing.

Raven's heart pounded frantically when she realized she was falling asleep and she panicked.

In a last ditch effort to free herself, Raven's eyes shone white as she summoned tendrils of dark energy, which soon slammed into Patty's stomach; the boy only gripped her more tightly, continuing to sing as though he'd felt nothing. Raven began to feel lightheaded and weak; her vision became blurry before everything around her faded. The sound of the lullaby soothed her and she fell asleep.

When Raven went limp in Patty's arms, the boy set him gently on the cold roof of the apartment building—making sure that she was tightly wrapped in the flannel blanket. Persephone slowly made her way onto the roof behind him, hair swept off by the wind as Patty slowly climbed to his feet and wiped fresh tears from his eyes; the two of them stared at Raven's unconscious form in the astral light.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, but if I know that you and the rest of the Titans are safe, we'll have nothing to be afraid of," Patrokalos whispered, quickly pulling Raven onto his back and carrying her to the roof access door to take her down to the apartment. "He who fears nothing can accomplish anything."

"No time for metaphors," Percy mumbled, opening the roof access door for her brother and watching as he carefully carried Raven down the metal staircase. Patty made his way to the door of Will's brother's apartment at the end of the hall, knowing now what he had to do; he knocked on the door and waited patiently, shooting Percy a soft look. A few moments later, Will opened the door with an expression of shock plastered across his face.

"Patty! What the hell happened?" Will exclaimed.

The male angel said nothing; instead, he walked into the apartment and set Raven's form on the dark tan couch.

Rebecca emerged from the hallway, her expression soon mirroring Will's.

"Is she okay?" Rebecca asked. "What happened to her?"

"She's fine," Persephone replied, turning to look at them as her blonde hair swirled around her body. Her normally soft, gentle voice was even and emotionless as she looked at the clock on the stove in the kitchen; it read 11:36 p.m. Their meeting with Slade was but a few minutes away. "Patty and I can't do what we need to do if we don't know for a fact that she and the rest of our family are safe."

"Did… did you do this to her?" Will asked incredulously; he and Rebecca both looked at Patty—eyes wide—waiting for a response. Instead, the blonde boy pulled out Raven's communicator and pressed a small red button on the side, activating its distress signal before tossing it to Rebecca—who caught it with a befuddled look on her face.

"We have to go. The Titans will be here in a few minutes," Patty said softly, turning away and walking toward the door of the apartment with his twin; the twins clasped hands and shared a look as they went, but Will bolted in front of them and spread both of his arms, blocking their path with an alarmed expression.

"Get out of our way, Will," Percy stated calmly, flicking her hair out of her eyes.

"No," Will responded firmly. "Neither one of you are fully healed yet and you aren't thinking clearly! If you want to throw your life away, you're going to have to go through me!"

"Please, William," Patrokalos whispered, begging the man to move. "As our friend… please don't make us do it."

Will remained in their path, refusing to let them get to the door.

"Harmony Twins, please!" Rebecca screamed, "You can't go! You're not ready to fight yet! You don't have to do this!"

The twins both glanced down at the carpet for a moment, mulling over their decision—regretting what they would have to do.

In an instant, the twins spread their arms as their eyes began to glow bright yellow: with a flash, they sang a few musical notes and engulfed the man in a wall of water before lifting him into the air and gently tossing him aside. Will landed roughly on his backside, completely soaked and coughing as the water merely dissolved into a cloud of sparkling moisture.

"We're sorry, but we'll never forget everything that you've done for us," Persephone whispered, sniffling a little bit as her brother opened the door to the apartment and gripped her hand. Rebecca ran to Will's side, helping him up from the floor before the pair looked at the twins with fear in their eyes. "We've got to do this, guys, so please... try to understand."

As fire engulfed their forms and their wings once again appeared, the Harmony Twins turned toward the door and ran out of the apartment like professional sprinters, disappearing into the night with their blonde hair flying.


	35. Chapter 34: Collision with Fate

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Collision with Fate**

Cyborg walked quickly down the streets of downtown Jump City, his eyes fixed on the sensors in his right arm. He stared longingly into the screens built into his arm, hoping that they would provide some insight into Raven's whereabouts. It had been almost twenty-four hours since Raven had vanished without a trace, and though he hid his mounting concerns well, Cyborg was deeply worried. Starfire and Beast Boy flew a few feet above Cyborg, keeping watchful eyes on the streets below as they glided swiftly through the sky.

The streets of downtown Jump City—usually a testament to orderly conduct within society—were in complete disarray.

News of the Jump City Fuel Company's destruction had spread far and wide, and the reactions of the citizenry—naturally—ran the gamut. Most people did as the authorities suggested; they remained inside where they would be safe and stayed off the roads, as emergency personnel were hard at work trying to restore natural gas to the ailing city. Not surprisingly, some denizens of Jump viewed the catastrophe as an opportunity, hoping to make a few quick dollars by looting stores while the attention of the police was diverted elsewhere.

As Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire scanned the streets, they were all taken aback by the degree of destruction inflicted upon the city by its own residents: street lamps had been knocked over, leaving live electrical wires hissing maliciously and sparks to emanated from the frayed ends of the wires. Storefront windows had been smashed; shards of glass littered the sidewalks and streets. Cars, which had been parked near the curb, had been overturned or vandalized. Some simply had broken windows, while others had been set ablaze by the anarchic mob, which sought nothing more than monetary gain and a few cheap thrills.

"Cyborg," Starfire began, voice trembling as she looked out on the destruction in disbelief, "tell me… is this normal behavior for those who have been afflicted by a calamity?"

Cyborg glanced around, taking in the devastation.

Seeing the city—his city—reduced to smoldering ashes by the very people he had sworn to protect disconcerted him greatly. He could feel anger and sadness rise within him all at once. One side of him was outraged by the unbridled avarice and lawlessness of otherwise ordinary citizens; yet—at the same time—he was greatly saddened and disappointed. He had always believed that the presence of the Titans had brought about a qualitative change within the people of Jump City; that serving as a symbol of hope and stability would only reinforce the inherent goodness of mankind. The surrounding destruction, however, seemed to suggest the antithesis: that the citizens of Jump City remained upright—not out of virtue—but out of fear of repercussions.

Cyborg hung his head and sighed; without the Titans, Jump City would tear itself apart.

"Unfortunately, Star," Cyborg replied, his timbre filled with an all-pervading disappointment, "some people do what is right because they have a strong moral code, while others do the right thing only because they are afraid of what would happen if they didn't. Under normal circumstances—when everything is under control—both groups act according to society's codes and ethics; take that structure away, though, and some of those people change…"

Starfire and Beast Boy continued to float above their mechanical colleague: the changeling couldn't speak due to the fact that he was in the shape of a bird at the moment, but he was listening to every word being spoken. The alien girl's eyes focused straight ahead, staring off into the distance as all expression seemed to wash from her countenance. She lightly chewed on her lower lip as she pondered what Cyborg had said.

"But why?" Starfire asked quizzically, furrowing her brow in confusion. "Why do people change so unpredictably in such a short span of time? Please, help me to understand…"

Cyborg looked up at the Tamaranian girl floating lightly in the astral sky, her befuddled expression tearing at his insides. Starfire had so adroitly adopted Earth's cultures and customs that it was easy to forget that she didn't always understand why people behaved the way they did.

"You have to understand, Starfire…" Cyborg began softly, trying to console his perplexed friend and teammate. "While a lot of people are good deep down, some lose their way or take the easy way out. They may do the right thing when they know others are watching. They may do the right thing because they are afraid of being punished if they are caught doing something wrong. But if they feel they can get away with doing something wrong, they will. If they don't think people are watching their every move, they will lie, cheat, and steal…out of greed, out of necessity, or out of boredom. You would be surprised what some 'civilized' people will do when they think no one's looking."

Starfire looked down at Cyborg, her expression still fraught with confusion. She nodded sheepishly, feigning comprehension, even though—deep down—she was still vexed by what had transpired. The seemingly mindless destruction only exacerbated an already regrettable situation within the city. Starfire sighed heavily; though she had lived among humans for some time now, moments such as these proved that she still had much to learn about human nature.

"I am sick with the worry," Starfire said earnestly, changing the subject as Beast Boy screeched an agreement. "I am greatly concerned about Raven. It has been almost an entire day and she has not returned or even tried to contact us…"

"I'm worried too, Star," Cyborg replied, his brusque tone piercing the silence of the night. "I know that Raven is a big girl and she's more-than-capable of taking care of herself, but…"

Cyborg stopped walking for a moment, his shoulders slumping forward slightly. He hung his head and brought his right hand his face, resting his head within it. He took in a deep breath and held it, trying mightily to fight back tears as he stood in the middle of the street. Starfire, seeing her friend troubled so greatly, slowly descended to the asphalt below, landing next to him.

She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort the mechanical man.

"Please, Cyborg," Starfire murmured quietly, practically cooing into his ear. "Do not be afraid. Raven is strong, and I am sure that we will find her and that she will be okay."

Cyborg took a few more deep breaths before lifting his head, averting his eyes from the pavement below. He wiped a stray tear from his eye before turning his head to look at Starfire, an ineffable—yet palpable—pain still evident in his contorted expression.

"I know Raven is strong," Cyborg began meekly, his husky tone reduced to but a shell of itself, "but the Harmony Twins were strong, too: the seven of us stood together against Cinderblock that night—and despite their strength, they still…"

Cyborg trailed off, unable to continue; he took a few deep breaths in an attempt to regain his composure. After a few moments of high tension and awkward silence, the boy found his voice once more.

"Sometimes strength alone isn't enough, Starfire," Cyborg said, looking up as his voice wavered. "The twins were the closest I've ever come to having a real brother and sister. I don't know how, but it happened. I've replayed that night on the bridge so many times in my head, wondering what I could have done differently… or if I could have done more. It's kept me up at night and consumed my waking moments. You guys are all I've got, now, so I don't want to lose any of you."

Starfire walked in front of Cyborg, placing both of her hands on the man's massive shoulders. She looked him in the eyes, her own gaze filled with steely determination and calmness. Amidst their chaotic surroundings and the fears they shared, Starfire stood resolved.

"Do not think that way," Starfire urged, her eyes practically ablaze with intensity. "My heart still aches for the Harmony Twins; they were dear friends and I miss them very much, but we cannot give up on Raven! We must keep searching! I am sure if we do, we will surely find—"

A klaxon built into Cyborg's right arm started bleating noisily, cutting Starfire off before she could finish what she had been saying. Cyborg looked down at his sensors with a puzzled look upon his face. After fiddling with the various and sundry controls in his arm for a moment, Cyborg's expression immediately changed from one of curious confusion to one of boundless joy and ebullience.

"Star! BB! Call Robin!" Cyborg exclaimed, his booming voice sounding more mirthful by the second.

"Why?" Starfire asked curiously. "Cyborg, what is going on?"

"Raven's communicator is back online!" Cyborg said optimistically as he began to run off into the night. "I have a lock on her signal!"

**TXXXXXT**

Robin lay motionlessly in the darkened Infirmary, his mind continuing to race incessantly. He had tried—with great difficulty—to clear his mind, in hopes of attaining some small degree of solace. He'd quickly found, however, that trying to ignore impending certainties was akin to fanning smoldering embers; the harder he tried to push his nagging ruminations aside, the more brightly and intensely they burned, returning to the forefront of his mind. Robin stared at the ceiling as he lay supinely on the firm, rigid mattress. He didn't dare move, fearing that the agonizing burning sensation in his back and shoulders would reassert itself.

Instead, he simply stared skyward, enveloped by the surrounding darkness.

The Infirmary was completely devoid of noise; the silence, however, did little to soothe Robin's frazzled nerves. As the sound of his rhythmic breathing filled the room, overtaking the surrounding stillness, Robin began to feel claustrophobic; as though the walls of the Infirmary were closing in around him…suffocating him. In a panic, he quickly jolted up in bed, grabbing onto the sidebars for stability. The searing ache tore through his back and shoulders once more, causing the Boy Wonder to wince and grit his teeth against the pain.  
Robin tossed aside the scratchy green covers that were snugly tucked around him before swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

He inched himself closer to the edge of the mattress, moving methodically as the pain continued to tear at him.

With every movement—with every breath—his skin seemed to tighten uncomfortably; the area, which had only begun to scab over, ripped open with every infinitesimal motion that he made. The sensation produced was much like the feeling of lemon juice or salt being poured into a gaping wound; the intensity of the pain was mind-numbingly torturous.

Robin placed his feet on the cold floor below and stood up slowly, his posture remaining slightly contorted as he hobbled forward. He grunted as he struggled to move of his own volition, clearly frustrated by the mounting difficulty of simple, everyday movements. Robin stumbled forward, wracked with pain, until he limped over to the large medicine cabinet, which stood next to the oversized computer screen. He grabbed hold of the door handles on the cabinet and steadied himself while taking a few deep breaths. For a few moments, he stood inhaling deeply through his nose, and then exhaling through his mouth.

With every breath, he tried to block out the agonizing ache only to have it flare up once more.

Robin opened the medicine cabinet and began to rifle through the myriad of pill containers, syringes, and amber-colored bottles; his eyes scanning each of the shelves, intent on locating something specific. Plastic pill bottles noisily clattered to the floor as Robin fumbled through the medicine cabinet; bottles and syringes continued to fall around his bare feet before rolling around the Infirmary floor. After a few minutes of frenzied searching, Robin located what he was looking for: a small amber bottle containing a clear liquid.

Robin took hold of the bottle, grabbed one of the sealed syringes from the top shelf of the cabinet, and began to stumble back to bed; he flopped down as soon as he reached the edge of it. His pain flared up momentarily, evoking a sharp yelp from the Boy Wonder, but as the searing pain petered off he held the small bottle to the pallid moonlight pouring through the window.

He sighed heavily.

"As much as I hate to admit it, this is my only option," Robin said dejectedly, pounding his clenched fists against the sidebar of the bed in frustration. "There's no way I can face Slade like this. I can barely move…"

If being incapacitated wasn't maddening enough, knowing that it had all been a part of Slade's plan made it doubly so. The masked madman—who, for all intents and purposes was the personification of evil—planned every aspect of his schemes down to the smallest, most trivial detail.

"Slade knew I was going to come to the meeting tonight," Robin muttered. "He didn't want me at one-hundred percent."

Robin sat on the edge of the bed, running scenarios through his mind; wracking his brain to uncover whatever Slade had been planning. Robin brought his right hand up to his face slowly—hoping to keep his discomfort to a minimum—and rubbed his eyes roughly. While the burns he had sustained were the worst of his injuries, his head still throbbed, leaving him in agony. The shockwaves of pulsating pain made it difficult for him to think clearly, interrupting his normal process of cogitation. Robin, however, remained undeterred; with every ounce of self-discipline and focus he could muster, he bore down and concentrated more intently. Robin's heart practically jumped into his throat as his communicator began to blare noisily from the corner of the room.

The piercing wail of the alarm reverberated sharply within the Infirmary.

Robin covered his ears as he pulled himself from the bed and hobbled to the corner of the room, where his utility belt lay on the counter next to the remnants of his uniform. He reached for his belt and pulled his communicator from it, flipping it open to stop the irritating din which filled the room. Static filled the screen for a moment before Starfire's face came into view, her jovial expression bringing some small amount of consolation to the ailing Boy Wonder.

"Robin!" Starfire exclaimed joyously, "Cyborg, Beast Boy, and I have glorious news!"

"Any new leads, Starfire?" Robin asked inquisitively, furrowing his brow and squinting slightly as the bright display of the communicator's screen was a stark contrast to the pitch-black domicile.

"Oh, yes! Wonderful news!" Starfire squealed ebulliently. "Cyborg received a distress signal from Raven's communicator. He has pinpointed her position and we are on our way to assist her."

"Great job, guys!" Robin said enthusiastically. "Be careful, though—it could be a trap. This is Slade we are dealing with, after all."

"We shall exercise the caution," Starfire replied earnestly, trying her best to assuage Robin, who was clearly troubled, his face looking like a mosaic of worry. "Rest well, Robin. We shall return with Raven!"

"I know you will," Robin replied, forcing a grin to feign normalcy. "Don't worry about me, Star, I'm just going to get some rest. I'll see you when you get back. Robin out."

Robin flipped his communicator shut and tossed it onto the counter. He gimped back to the bed and sat back down, picking up the small amber bottle and syringe. Robin tore open the plastic casing surrounding the syringe and pulled the hypodermic from its packaging before plunging the needle into the bottle. He took a deep breath of hesitation before jabbing the syringe into his left arm, depressing the piston and releasing the drug into his bloodstream. After a moment, Robin ripped the hypodermic from his flesh and tossed it onto the bed. He stood up slowly and walked to the counter, where he grabbed his communicator and utility belt.

"Cathine ought to do the trick." Robin said evenly, ambivalent about his decision to dose himself with such a potent amphetamine.

The drug would help release epinephrine into his bloodstream, keeping him alert, yet oblivious to the pain he was in. Though the drug would help him get through his confrontation with Slade, coming down would be unpleasant and being incognizant to pain would be perilous. Robin opened the door to the Infirmary, which shot open with a hiss, and walked out into the dimly lit hallway. As he moved, he began to feel the drug take hold; his heart began to pump faster and faster, his blood surging through his veins as though it were on fire. He began to feel warm all over; his lethargy and agony dissolving away as the synthetic agent did its job.

Robin navigated through the labyrinth of corridors, before stopping at his room to grab a uniform.

As he slipped on his uniform, twinges of pain shuddered through the area; this pain however, was minimal compared to what he had been experiencing. Robin rummaged through his room, making sure he was fully prepped for the battle ahead. He loaded his utility belt with extra bird-a-rangs, explosive and concussive disks, and other high-tech gadgets before fastening it securely around his waist. Robin also grabbed his bo-staff, collapsed it down to a concealable size, and latched it to his belt. With little fanfare, Robin walked through the foyer of Titan's Tower, heading for the door. He couldn't shake the feeling that—when the sun rose in the morning—life as he knew it would be forever changed. As he opened the door, the moonlight poured into the Tower, casting a silhouette behind him.

Robin took a deep breath and looked back into the Tower one last time.

His home. His domain. He took it all in, not knowing whether or not this would be the last time he would look upon it. He shook away the pangs of nostalgia gnawing at him and quickly turned toward the door before swallowing hard and walking out into the night.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at the meeting point.

Robin's heart fluttered frenetically as he moved slowly and methodically up the stately marble staircase in front of the Jump City National Bank. He took in long, deep breaths in an attempt to soothe his frazzled nerves. Though he tried mightily to calm himself, he soon realized his pursuit of tranquility was fruitless. Robin swallowed hard as he continued making his way up the staircase; his gentle footsteps echoing quietly, overshadowing the surrounding silence.

He made several cursory glances at his surroundings, trying to take in as much as possible as quickly as he could. His eyes quickly darted to the entranceway of the Jump City National Bank, which stood at the end of a long, ornate landing at the top of the staircase. The bank, which had originally been built in the 1930's, was a classic example of Art Deco architecture; the landing of the staircase was a testament to opulence.

Inlaid frescoes and reliefs etched into the marble above the heavy glass double-doors, and a sunburst mosaic in granite set into the stone of the landing bolstered the majesty and flamboyance of the building. Robin's heart sank as stared at the double-doors. He knew what was awaiting him on the other side, and knew the conflict to come would be undoubtedly arduous. He took a deep breath and prudently approached the doorway, cloistered by the archway formed by the voluminous conglomerate pillars which stood in a straight-line pattern at the top of the staircase.

As he stood under the cover of darkness, he looked over his shoulder at the devastation that had befallen his beloved city.

Sadness, disappointment, and disdain flooded Robin's troubled mind as his eyes remained transfixed on the destruction. He could not help but feel as though the current state of Jump City was avoidable. Worse still, he could not help but feel as though the majority of the damage incurred had been his fault. Though it was a bitter pill to swallow, he knew that—by shirking his responsibilities—he had invited crime into the city. Robin felt his eyes well up with tears and rubbed them roughly in an attempt to stave off the sentiment. With a quick volte-face, he turned and moved toward the entrance of the Jump City National Bank. As he laid his hands on the cold brass handles of the large glass double-doors, a deluge of penitence washed over him.

"This is my burden to bear… I caused all of this, so I must put an end to it," Robin said mournfully under his breath. The muscles in the teenager's arms contracted as he pulled the brass door handles, causing the heavy glass double-doors to swing open hesitantly. Robin's face contorted slightly, as a twinge of dull pain shot through his back and shoulders. Though he'd dosed himself with Cathine, the pain he was experiencing—while significantly reduced—had not been completely eradicated. Robin shrugged it off as he silently entered the foyer of the bank. The Boy Wonder quickly scanned the bank, his calculating mind evaluating his surroundings.

The interior was dimly lit; the overhead lights were turned off and the mini-blinds covering the exterior windows had been drawn. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once he regained his bearings, he began to walk further inside methodically, stepping slowly and carefully, not quite knowing what to expect. The foyer opened up into a Great Hall, where business was conducted within the bank.

One side of the Hall was partitioned off into separate offices, from which the specialized departments of the bank operated.

The other side however, followed an open-floor plan; it was divided up by crowd-control barriers, designed to maintain order while the bank's clientele waited for assistance. The barriers meandered around the Great Hall, opening up just in front of the large, marble counter which stood against the far wall.

Robin cautiously entered the Great Hall, his heart pounding vehemently as he inched forward. The bank was completely silent; the only audible noise were his footsteps as his steel-toed boots made contact with the floor. As he ventured through the Great Hall, walking around the crowd-control barriers, he quickly noticed something was amiss; the massive steel vault, which stood directly next to the marble customer service counter, was hanging open. Robin furrowed his brow in confusion as he approached the open vault.

As he inched closer, the lights within the massive steel room snapped on, startling the Boy Wonder, who stumbled backwards in response, his heart practically jumping into his throat. Robin panted heavily as he attempted to regain his composure. Robin's eyes widened as a dark, imposing figure stepped forward within the vault, casting a long silhouette into the Grand Hall of the bank.

Robin remained statuesque, staring at the interloper occupying the vault with righteous conviction, not knowing what to expect. After a few moments of awkward silence and high tension, Robin took a few steps toward the vault. He swallowed his fears and qualms as he pressed on with false bravado; his anxiety and inner-turmoil practically boiling over within him. A few feet from the entrance of the vault, Robin paused, choosing to remain a safe distance away from the menacing figure facing him. As his heart raced, threatening to burst within his chest, Robin cleared his throat and confronted the intimidating form before him.

"Slade…" Robin spoke gruffly, his dry and raspy voice crackling, echoing throughout the empty Hall.

"Hello, Robin…" Slade replied, his oily voice filling the room. "So nice of you to come… and like a good little boy scout, you're early."

"Cut the crap," Robin shot back, practically hissing, his muscles tensing involuntarily in contempt. "You know why I'm here. After you tried killing me last night at the Jump City Fuel Company, you're lucky I showed up at all."

Slade chuckled insidiously as he stepped from the vault to speak with Robin face-to-face. He folded his hands behind his back and strolled casually in front of the Boy Wonder, who stood with gritted teeth, a ferocious look upon his countenance.

"Kill you? I had no intention of killing you, Robin. Had you died in the explosion, I would have been extremely disappointed," Slade responded incredulously, voice coming out in an oily way that made Robin cringe. "Consider it… an entrance examination. A test, if you will. Your being here right now proves to me that you have the fortitude and the skill set necessary to work alongside me…"

"Shut up," Robin hissed; the thought of working in close proximity with the madman made his stomach turn.

"I believe I shall ignore that command," Slade sneered. "Besides, you look no worse for wear."

Robin's agitation steadily rose, becoming increasingly evident. He struggled to maintain an apathetic demeanor; his disdain for Slade and clear repulsion of all the masked menace stood for making it virtually impossible to stand indifferently in his company.

"Cut to the chase, Slade," Robin said assertively, tone even and low as he deliberately regulated his anger.

"Let's," Slade agreed, narrowing his eye behind his mask. "When we last spoke, I gave you quite a bit to think about. You can't hide what you've done forever; the fact that you've managed to deceive your little friends for this long is astounding. Without my help, the truth will get out—and I know that's the last thing you want. That being said, have you given any thought to my proposal?"

Robin stood in silent thought for a moment. He knew that he needed to forcefully reject Slade's offer and stick to his moral and ethical code. It would not be easy to come clean; there would be broken hearts, broken trust, and—potentially—broken friendships, but it was the right thing to do… the thing he should have done all along. Accepting Slade's offer would not ameliorate what had happened; it would simply prolong the inevitable. Robin sighed heavily, lowering his head and averting his eyes to the floor below.

"I have, and I want no part of it…" Robin replied, his voice unwavering and strong. Slade's eye widened for a moment upon hearing Robin's words; it was obvious that he hadn't believed that Robin would reject his offer. Slade shook away his sentiments and looked directly at Robin, his eye practically ablaze with intensity.

"You are a fool! It is unwise for you to reject my offer," Slade retorted, his booming voice reverberating shrilly within the Grand Hall of the bank. "Your life, your friends, your reputation—all will be irrevocably changed and subsequently destroyed!"

Robin raised his head and stared at Slade, who was clearly infuriated. As the two locked eyes, the tension within the room became palpable—practically stifling. Neither man appeared prepared to concede.

"I may be a fool, and the life I knew may be gone forever… but I would die before I became your right hand," Robin said coldly, giving the man a slight smile. Slade laughed to himself before folding his hands behind his back once more and turning away from Robin. He walked a few steps away from the bewildered Boy Wonder before sighing heavily and hanging his head in disappointment.

"That can be arranged, Robin," Slade stated coldly. "I was hoping that you would finally see logic, but your recalcitrance precedes you. It is unfortunate that you must suffer the same fate as the rest of this miserable city; it is a shame to waste your potential so blindly."

"W-what do you mean? What 'fate?'" Robin stammered almost inaudibly; Slade began to chuckle maniacally once more, amused by the Boy Wonder's naiveté. He whirled back around and marched up to Robin, who recoiled.

"Do you honestly believe that this is all about you?" Slade remarked sharply, eliciting a gasp from Robin. "This was never just about _you,_ Robin, though you _did_ play a pivotal role in making what I have in mind possible…"

"A-and what w-would that be?" Robin choked out nervously, his voice crackling.

"I'll humor you, since I do know how you hate being left in the dark," Slade stated evenly, before chortling quietly. "Besides, you never would have figured it out on your own, and it is far too late to stop me."

Robin's eyes narrowed maliciously and every muscle in his body began to burn furiously. He choked down his anger, choosing instead to let it roll around in his belly, like a fiery ball of magma. His hands began to shake involuntarily, both from his all-pervading rage and from the Cathine. He knew, however, that it was best to resist the overwhelming urge to go fisticuffs with Slade; he realized that the more information Slade gave away, the greater his chances of putting a stop to his plans.

"Don't let me stop you from savoring your moment…" Robin said bitterly through clenched teeth.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Robin," Slade replied, voice echoing in the large Hall. "As a rule, I am reactionary; while many people focus on what they are going to do, I prefer to tailor my plans to what others have mistakenly done; I exploit their errors and manipulate them. As I said before, I sent Cinderblock to attack the Jump City Bridge merely to get your attention: I never dreamed he would have been so massively successful; injuring The Harmony Twins was quite an accomplishment. If that wasn't good enough, your reaction to the _'misfortune'_ was to forsake your teammates and leave them to die, forcing you to lie to the rest of the Titans."

Robin could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but choked them back: he was glad he was wearing a mask. Outwardly, he was completely stolid, showing absolutely no shred of emotion. Inwardly, a violent torrent of powerful sentiments was brewing.

"You kept secrets from your team…" Slade continued condescendingly. "You even kept my resurgence hidden from them until you had no choice but to involve them. By keeping them out of the loop, you allowed them to focus too much on their grief. You allowed them to become preoccupied with it… consumed by it—and it wasn't long afterward that your stranglehold on the city loosened enough for me to begin plotting against you… and plot I did."

"The Fuel Company was the only target that you destroyed!" Robin caterwauled angrily. "We stopped you, Slade!"

"Did you, Robin?" Slade remarked questioningly. "No—you only believed that you stopped me. Last night was the final stage. You see, my pronged _'attack'_ was nothing more than a diversion. I needed to keep you preoccupied, so I targeted Jump City's infrastructure, knowing it would coax you out. Sure enough—like moths to the flame—you came. I never intended to destroy the city's infrastructure, but I needed you to believe otherwise, so I destroyed the Jump City Fuel Company. By attacking one of the sites and leaving the others intact, I knew you would assume you were successful in abating disaster and as a result, wouldn't delve deeper…"

Robin's mind began to race. Though he wasn't giving Slade the satisfaction of seeing his horrified expression, his trepidation was palpable. He had assumed that—even though the Fuel Company had been destroyed—three out of the four services and utilities had been salvaged, which had averted Slade's plan. He had never anticipated that the attack was merely a diversion designed to mask a larger, more volatile scheme.

"What exactly do you have planned, Slade?" Robin asked quizzically, his brow furrowing.

"Since your fate is sealed, I will humor you," Slade quipped malignantly, "You see, dear boy, after the explosion, all emergency personnel within the city flocked to the site. It is cold outside, and people get upset when their furnaces and stoves don't work. That left the entire city… to me. With no one standing in my way, I was able to move freely around the city, completely undetected. It didn't take long for me to plant barrels of chemicals around the city in strategic positions. These barrels contain a potent neurotoxin and are all linked to a detonator in my possession. With the flip of a switch, I will eradicate every worthless shred of life in this city while leaving the infrastructure intact."

"You're bluffing, Slade!" Robin shouted disbelievingly; the madman burst out laughing, unable to contain his devious glee.

"Trust me, Robin…" Slade stated plainly, his laughter tapering off. "I am not bluffing. Far from it, really. The canisters I planted around the city contain two chemical compounds: methylphosphonyl difluoride and a combination of isopropyl alcohol and isopropylamine. When combined, they catalyze into a substance known as Sarin; a colorless, odorless neurotoxin five-hundred times more potent and deadly than cyanide. Though it is difficult to manufacture, I always do enjoy a challenge; there is enough of it to kill everything in a thirty-mile radius."

"It's suicide…" Robin stammered, his voice trembling as the realization of what was about to befall Jump City sank in. "You would die, too, so you wouldn't live long enough to enjoy your victory."

"Your ignorance surprises me, Robin," Slade deigned iniquitously. "Why do you think we are in a _bank?_ So I can make a _withdrawal?_ I have the vault outfitted with all I need to survive for a few days. By then, the air will have cleared and I will be able to use this once-thriving metropolis as my base of operation for further attacks upon the world. It will be the end of living underground—of hiding. Today, I begin shaping the world in my image… as I see fit."

Robin's eyes widened in horror; he felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of him. He glanced at Slade, who stood before him arrogantly, clearly proud of himself and what he had accomplished. Robin seemed to collapse within himself; his surroundings feeling strangely distant. His heart plummeted and his stomach tied itself into knots as the entirety of Slade's plan sank in.

"No…" he whispered.

**TXXXXXT**

Percy and Patty's arms were spread out as they flew like eagles, soaring high above Jump City and traversing the troposphere. A song by their favorite singer, Ryan Dan, was coming from their lips as they belted out the lyrics in harmony. The biting end-of-winter air tossed their hair around like two clouds of pale gold: it swept under their glistening wings as she carried the sky upon her shoulders. It had seemed like an eternity since the twins had last taken flight.

_"Stop every clock; the stars are in shock; the river won't run to the sea…"  
_

_"Can you hear Heaven cry? The tears of an Angel.  
_

_The Tears of an Aaaaaaangel…"_

As the twins flew, hand in hand, and sang their favorite song, they took in their surroundings—savoring every moment of the beauty which stretched out before her and enveloped her all at once. The moon smiled down on them, casting a gentle light upon all that it touched. The surrounding stars twinkled brightly in contrast, like portals to heaven itself. The twilight sky was serene; the ubiquitous tranquility of the night married with the ethereal beauty of the cosmos evoked a feeling of oneness from the changeling.

In this moment, all of their worries and anxiety washed away.

In this moment, all of their pain and suffering faded to the furthest recesses of their minds.

In this moment, the twins didn't know where the sky ended and she began.

Yet, even though the night was undoubtedly calming, the twins found it difficult to feel completely at ease.

Pangs of guilt began to creep into their otherwise untroubled minds as they began their descent, arching their bodies gracefully and twisting like acrobats as they hurled themselves rapidly toward the Jump City skyline. The two of them were gently gliding above the huddled mass of rooftops and streets—which snaked around in serpentine patterns, like veins—below. The Harmony Twins could feel their sorrow creeping as as they scanned the streets below with keen vision. Even amidst the pooling darkness, they were able to spot the Jump City National Bank and swooped down to take a closer look.

What they saw shocked them both to the core.

The streets below were in disarray. The widows of many of the storefront shops had been smashed; shards of glass were strewn about the sidewalks and into the street, twinkling brightly in the moonlight. Smoke filled the sky, billowing from the ground below. A few trash receptacles had been set asunder, their contents smoldering away, send plumes of thick, noxious smoke skyward. Two mailboxes standing stood in front of the Jump City National bank itself had been torn from the ground and smashed, their contents scattered in the street. Amidst the destruction, however, silence prevailed; only the crackling and popping of the fires below echoed in the night.

"What on earth happened here?" Persephone whispered, flapping her wings with her brother and cresting upward to get a better look at the Jump City National Bank and its surroundings.

"Jesus," Patrokalos gasped, blue eyes going wide when he took in the destruction. "It looks like a war zone!"

"Got that right," Percy agreed, covering her mouth in shock. "It looks like a post-apocalyptic setting for a zombie movie!"

Patty shuddered before he circled over the Jump City National Bank a few times, scoping out the perimeter of the building while his sister merely continued to stare at the destruction. Though Slade was offering her a partnership—which normally constituted an olive branch—he couldn't be trusted. Slade had chosen this particular location for a reason and clearly had a home-field advantage.

By inviting them to an unfamiliar rendezvous point, Slade had retained a clear tactical advantage.

Patty circled around a few more times but was stifled by the thick, dense smoke which poured freely into the air. He found a tall building which stood adjacent to the Jump City National Bank and landed nimbly on the rooftop, keeping an eye on the front entrance to the bank below as his waist-length blonde hair rippled down around his shoulders. Percy landed next to him soon after.

The twins sat on the ledge of the building, dangling their bare feet over the side.

Countless thoughts ran through their minds as they scanned the face of the Jump City National Bank. The exterior of the building itself was a sight to behold: the structure was constructed out of marble and conglomerate. Romanesque pillars decorated in the Corinthian style accentuated the beauty of the bank's exterior, complimented by a large clock—replete with roman numerals—which loomed just above the grand entranceway.

The clock currently read 11:52 p.m.

The lights were off inside and the blinds to the windows were drawn. There appeared to be no movement coming from inside of the building, and there were no odd or out-of-place individuals loitering around the exterior of the bank. From a glance, it was as though the employees of the bank had simply cleaned up, locked up, and went home; nothing out of the ordinary was in evidence.

Percy sighed heavily as she looked upon the bank from above, the rank odor of smoke surrounding her and her brother as they sat in lucid thought. The girl's blue eyes peeled away from the entrance of the bank when the stars in the sky grabbed her attention: they were burning so fervently and beautifully that they'd pierced the nocturnal darkness with their glow.

As the angel gazed longingly into the night's sky, her mind began to wander.

"Whatever Slade has planned is bigger than anything he's tried before," Persephone stated calmly.

"Yeah," Patrokalos agreed. "He hasn't let us in on what he has planned, though."

"He will if he thinks we'll join him," Percy pointed out.

"There can't be even a shred of doubt in our minds," Patty sighed, conviction growing with each passing moment. "If Slade senses hesitation, he'll leave us in the dark and the city will pay the price. For this to work, we have to put everything aside… our hopes, our dreams, our desires—everything that we are. We will have to become what we have sworn to destroy."

The twins looked skyward once more, staring longingly at the moon and stars as they alighted the sky with their pallid light; Percy breathed in deeply, knowing that—if nothing else—all of the Titans were out of harm's way. Patrokalos swallowed hard and got to his feet before helping Persephone up; a cold gust of wind blew by, rippling through their long blonde hair and ruffling the Japanese school clothes that Will had given them when they'd first arrived at the apartment.

His niece and nephew were soon-to-be transfer students, so he had given the uniforms to them.

"Let's get this over with…" Persephone whispered fiercely, gripping her brother's hand. As the two of them stood on the ledge of the building, the girl's keen sense of hearing picked up sounds of movement from the street below—almost inaudible sounds: glass shards crushing and the hollow echo of footsteps climbing the marble staircase in front of the Jump City National Bank. Percy quickly ducked behind the ledge of the building and pulled her brother down before peering out from behind it. Her burning blue eyes became glued to the entrance of the bank as the figure came into her field of vision... but the eyes of both twins widened.

"Is that…" Patrokalos whispered. "Is that... Robin?"

"What is he doing here?" Persephone squeaked, face draining of color; the twins huddled down on the ledge of the adjacent rooftop, lost in rumination; though the bitter winter wind gnawed at them mercilessly, they paid no attention to the cold. "Patty, what the heck is Robin doing here? What business could he possibly have with Slade?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Patrokalos retorted, feeling befuddled and enraged all at once. Confusion permeated the boy's countenance as he ran a multitude of scenarios through his mind, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Percy crouched down—shielded by the shadows—and ran a hand through her soft hair as she plotted her next move.

After a few moments of thought, however, the girl let out an exasperated sigh.

"Typical Slade…" Percy whispered under her breath, thinking aloud. "Whatever he has planned had bloodshed written all over it—but where does Robin fit in? If Robin is here to fight Slade—to put a stop to his plans—why did he come alone and waltz right in?"

Persephone rubbed her temples roughly, wracking her brain in an effort to decipher Slade's master plan; the harder she concentrated however, the further away the answers she sought seemed to slip; the girl clenched her small fists in frustration, visibly irritated.

In a moment of clarity, however, her brother's eyes widened.

"What if… what if Robin is working for Slade?" Patrokalos squeaked out; Percy started and stared at him in horror, but then she took a moment and inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself before thinking about that possible scenario. Though—at the moment—she was uncertain whether or not she would ever be able to forgive Robin for what he'd done to them, the girl had never expected to see the Boy Wonder go so far as working for Slade.

"Robin has always been the best of us," Persephone stated simply, shaking her head in confusion. "He's always been righteous, sometimes to a fault… but… he's also changed. Slade has always gotten to him, so maybe he's finally… snapped."

Patty shivered and looked at the large clock adorning the face of the ostentatious building; it now read 12:02 a.m.

His heart jumped into his throat; he and his sister had become immersed in her conversation and had lost track of time. Waiting no longer, the boy grabbed his sister's hand and got to his feet, sharing a look with her before they leapt off of the ledge of the roof. In mid-air, the god and goddess flung their arms out as blue fire exploded out of their backs, forming into the shapes of their wings.

With a few musical notes, the twins summoned forth four pillars of water that froze to the back of their wrists.

As the liquid pillars fell prey to their icy energy, the twins glided over the street below and gained a little altitude, soaring over the stairs before they let their fiery wings dissolve and landed lightly at the top of the staircase. As the twins sprinted silently to the end of the landing and grabbed the handles of the glass double-doors, Percy got an idea and halted her brother.

"We need to play this smart," she stated, clutching his hand. "All we know for sure is that Robin and Slade are inside. Any information we could get would be useful… and it would be _way_ better than going in completely blind."

"So... we use our powers over light and shadow?" Patrokalos asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes," Persephone stated simply; the boy and girl took a step back from the doors, taking a few deep breaths. They were unsure of what awaited them on the other side, but they both knew it was too late to turn back now. Persephone swallowed hard and raised her arms while her brother mirrored her movements, crossing their frozen blades like an 'X' as they prepared to use individual skills.

"Guard Skill: distortion," the twins stated simultaneously, eyes flaring with blinding yellow light. There was no point in speaking aloud, nor was that the actual name of this particular ability; however, the twins had discovered early on that controlling their powers was a lot easier if they used some sort of sound to focus on. So, in other words, any form of speech worked just as well as music.

The two of them particularly like the anime _Angel Beats_, too, since Kanade Tachibana was an angel.

Yellow light instantly roared up from the ground and engulfed their forms, causing the twins to become invisible and no longer solid: in astral, spiritual forms, the twins walked through the heavy glass doors and entered the bank as though they weren't even there, their presences going completely unnoticed by the building's occupants. Once inside the bank, the twins silently crept through the foyer with their swords held at the ready. The sound of voices bickering back and forth filled the darkened bank; Percy and Patty stuck to the shadows and inched closer to the end of the hallway, choosing to remain—at the moment—as the two reticent voyeurs.

Percy and Patty peered around the corner to see Slade circling around Robin, his hands folded decorously behind his back. The Titan leader remained motionless, standing still, his eyes following Slade. Robin's face was expressionless, but his body language spoke volumes; his shoulders were slumped forward submissively and his head was cocked downward, as though he were defeated or ashamed. As Slade continued pace around him, the twins used their keen senses of hearing to listen in on the conversation.

"I am a firm believer in two things, Robin," Slade began evenly, his timbre filling the room as he continued circling around the Boy Wonder. "Time and patience. All opportunities present themselves in due time; it just takes some patience to lay in wait while the stars align. Take your current predicament, for example: all of this began that night on the bridge. From that moment on, every decision you have made has brought you to this point… past, present, and future. Many believe them to be separate, however they are indelibly intertwined."

Robin quickly turned around and marched up to Slade, who stopped and faced the irate hero. Without hesitation, the boy grabbed Slade by the collar of his uniform and shook him several times out of anger. Slade offered no resistance, remaining still as he brutalized him.

"You're full of CRAP, Slade!" Robin screamed violently, his voice crackling.

Slade sniggered sinisterly as Robin continued to shake him.

"Don't you understand, Robin?" Slade asked questioningly, his eye practically perusing Robin's mind and gazing into his soul, "You cannot run from your past, ignore the present, or escape the future. At some point, you must confront your troubles rather than trying to run from them. That is why you are here: fate. That night, you made a choice; the ramifications of which were much greater than you imagined. Instead of accepting your mistake and the stigma associated with it, you chose to run—to evade destiny."

Robin's grip on Slade's collar tightened. His blood felt as though it were on fire; his face was beet red in fury and small—yet visible—veins protruded from his forehead and neck. Robin panted heavily, clearly exasperated by Slade's rationale.

"I've made mistakes, but I am _not_ a murderer…" Robin growled malignantly.

With a sudden thrust, the teenager pushed Slade away. The madman stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance. Rather than attack Robin, however, he simply folded his hands behind his back once more, appearing completely calm— even in the face of the obstreperous hero.

"Tell that to the Harmony Twins…" Slade retorted indignantly, mocking Robin's statement.

"At the time, I did what I thought was right!" Robin muttered. "The twins were beyond saving, and you stood poised to attack the city and jeopardize more innocent lives! In the end, sacrifices must be made for the greater good!"

However, upon hearing Robin's words, Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius—who had been listening in on their conversation from the shadows—could feel feral rage beginning to rise within them. The twins began to breathe heavily as their hearts pounded in sync, shaking their chests with every beat. The angels slowly stood up as they let the control over their astral forms dissolve into blue sparkles, taking each others hands as they began silently walking toward the two men standing in front of the vault in the Grand Hall.

Their blonde hair rippled and began to turn silver from the roots down, but unlike last time, this was a willing change.

They had total control over themselves: their angelic blood was finally awakening.

Slade began to chuckle heartily at Robin, who stood with his back turned toward the foyer: Robin's expression quickly changed from one of defiant vindication to one of sheer confusion; at the moment, he couldn't understand what Slade found so amusing. Unlike Slade, Robin could not see the darkened figure casually approaching with glowing blue eyes.

"Past… present… and future, Robin," Slade said sternly, contentment evident in his tone. "They are all intertwined. The decisions you have made in the past brought you here tonight and your choice this evening has greatly affected your future. You thought that by standing in my way, you could somehow atone for what you have done. You're wrong. All you have done is proven to me that you are expendable. Once again, you have made the wrong choice. This time, however, you won't be able to lie your way out of it. This time, two faces from your past shall unhinge your present… and derail your future…"

Robin continued to look at Slade, still completely perplexed by the villain's cryptic ponderings. He furrowed his brow as he tried to discern the meaning behind Slade's words. Robin stood motionless for a moment, trying desperately to understand what Slade meant. He looked directly at the madman, who seemed to be staring into the darkness behind him.

Robin quickly whirled around to see two figures amidst the shadows, methodically approaching.

"Who's there?" Robin yelled, his voice steadfast and unfettering. What

came back was a soft, beautiful, horrifyingly familiar song that he'd heard hundreds of times before...

"_Cover my eyes... Cover my ears... Tell me these words are a lie,_" a girl's frozen voice lilted gently as the figures moved closer.

"_It can't be true... That I'm losing you. The sun cannot fall from the sky..." _a boy's frigid voice echoed softly.

No, it can't be..." Robin whispered, eyes widening behind his mask.

"_Can you hear heaven cry...?"_ the voices harmonized. "_The tears of an Angel..."_

"Who are you?!" Robin roared.

"People who were beyond saving…" the voices responded simultaneously, sounding cold and gentle.

As the synchronized voices emanating from the darkness filled the Grand Hall, Robin's mind went blank: the soft reverberations not only echoed throughout the empty expanse, but shook Robin to his core. He couldn't move; he couldn't think; he could only stare in trepidation as the nebulous forms moved from the security of the shadows into the light, which reflected off of something silver.

It was the Harmony Twins.

Robin stumbled backwards—mouth agape—as he stared in utter disbelief.

"No…" Robin whispered in horror.

Even though the twins remained silent, their normally blank expressions were replaced with icy hatred; the god and goddess stood with their fists clenched tightly and their muscles tensed as the shimmering blue blades glinted in the moonlight. Their incredibly long silver hair shone like the stars as they slowly approached, glowing yellow eyes burning like hellfire. Robin looked at the twins wide-eyed, clearly awestruck: though he instantly knew the individuals standing before him were the Harmony Twins, the former blondes seemed entirely different to him. The twins he'd known had been infinitely kind, caring, and gentle; they'd exuded an aura of warmness and optimism. The identical people standing before him right now seemed cold and distant despite the fact that they looked almost exactly the same in appearance.

It was as though the goodness in their hearts had been whittled away and destroyed.

"How does it feel, Robin?" Slade goaded. "How does it feel to stare directly at Fate?"

"_Stop every clock... the stars are in shock... the river won't run to the sea,_" the twins continued singing. "_I won't let you fly; I won't say goodbye. I won't let you slip away from me. Can you hear heaven cry...? The tears of an angel..._"

The Harmony Twins continued moving forward as the lyrics escaped from their lips, silver hair swirling around their legs as they walked closer to Robin—who recoiled. The Boy Wonder could feel his stomach doing somersaults; sharp cramping pains gripped him and for a moment, he felt as though he would vomit. He looked at the twins, whose glowing yellow eyes were fixed on him; he could feel their passionate fury as they sang the next verse to the song—the part that had always stirred something pleasant inside of him.

Now, the feeling was twisted into horrified remorse.

"Harmony Twins, don't..." Robin pleaded.

"_So, hold on... Be strong... Everyday, hope will grow,_" the twins sang, glaring with tears streaming down their faces. "_I'm here, there's nothing to fear... Little one, don't let gooooooooooooooooooo! Don't let gooooooooooooo! Don't let gooooooooo!_"

Their voices echoed so beautifully around the marble floors that it held the captivation of both witnesses—albeit, Slade didn't show any emotion despite the fact that he felt secretly impressed. The twins blinked slowly as they continued stepping forward, tears falling away like crystalline diamonds.

"_Cover my eyes... Cover my ears..._" the twins whispered. "_Tell me these words are a lieeee..._"

"Splendid performance, Angels," Slade remarked. "Nice of you to join us. Have you thought about my offer?"

"Yes, we have," Persephone replied softly.

"Good; what is your decision?" Slade asked.

"We're in," Patrokalos said emotionlessly.

"Good! Let's make your first task a simple one," Slade acknowledged, averting his eye to Robin—who was still reeling from the shock of the twins' reappearance. The twins nodded slightly, urging the villain to continue. "Let's see... well, I want you to kill Robin."

"Done," the twins stated simultaneously, eyes flaring from gold to a multicolored white that shifted in hue like glowing opals. The twins clenched their hands into fists and crossed their frozen blades as they walked toward him, drawing them back with rapid movements so a sharp ringing noise would fill the air. The twins stared at Robin, who seemed virtually catatonic as they began making their way toward him. As the angels began to approach with their frozen swords, however, the Boy Wonder snapped back to reality.

"P-Percy, Patty, you guys don't want to do this! You're making a huge mistake! Slade is just using you!" Robin stammered; as the teenager's words filled the room, both twins paused. The three of them were inches apart, staring into each other's eyes. In a flash, Persephone whirled around and sent a fierce roundhouse kick into the Boy Wonder's gut, sending him flying roughly into a wall; the hollow sound of Robin slamming against the marble wall filled the air. Robin remained on the ground for a moment, the burns on his back and shoulders nagging at him once more. He grimaced in pain as the twins loomed over him.

"Nice attack," Slade purred, eyes shining with insane glee.

"Harmony Twins, Please… don't do this…" Robin choked out, trying to stave off the pain. The silver-haired god and goddess stared down unfeelingly at Robin as they raised their arms, who sat on the floor with his back against the wall and peered up at them.

"Sorry, Robin…" the twins said simultaneously, long hair billowing out with a surge of wind. "We wish there were some other way…"


	36. Chapter 35: Angel of Wrath

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Angel of Wrath **

Robin's eyes widened as The Harmony Twins loomed over him with murderous intent, silver hair billowing out like a cloud. He stared up at the identical angels for a moment: their fragile, beautiful faces bore no expression whatsoever. Percy and Patty's glowing white eyes remained fixed on Robin, seething with furious animosity: the teenager wriggled backward in an attempt to put more distance between the twins and himself; however he remained backed against the wall with no way to escape.

"Get up, Robin!" Percy commanded icily, voice sounding so soft that it was frightening. "Stand up and fight!"

"Persephone…" Robin muttered softly, trying his best to diffuse the situation. "It doesn't have to be this way… you guys really don't want to do this. Slade is just using you! He is fueling your anger and forcing us into an altercation—"

"This isn't about him," Patty hissed, twisting his hands to the side and lifting Robin to his feet by the collar of his uniform in an effort to keep from impaling him. "This is between you, Persephone, and myself! You never liked us, Robin! You always looked down on us, even more than you did Beast Boy! To you, we were the weak links and nothing more—an inconvenience to your plans! We were a burden to you! Yet, for nearly two years, you led us on and made us believe the complete opposite! YOU MADE US FEEL LOVED!"

Robin did his best to hide his pain; Patty's huge clenched fists were pressing sharply into his chest, pushing his wounded shoulders and back into the wall—but at least it was better than the vicious-looking shards of ice that were being directed off to the sides. Robin could feel his fear rising sharply within him, churning in his stomach like a wriggling ball of worms: Patrokalos had him pinned against the wall with their faces but inches apart; the boy's long, vampire-like fangs were directly in his line of sight.

"That's not true!" Robin cried, trying to sound steadfast and unwavering. "I never wanted things to play out the way they did!"

Upon hearing Robin's words, Patty's once-expressionless countenance filled with fury. His glowing eyes began to fill with tears and he grit his teeth, muscular shoulders beginning to quake: the angel's vice-like grip on Robin's collar tightened, and—with surprisingly little effort—he lifted the Boy Wonder into the air and tossed him roughly to the marble floor.

"LIAR!" Persephone shrieked, stamping her dress shoe-clad foot with a loud clack; Robin landed on the floor with a hollow thud, sliding across the smooth, cold surface until he came to a stop a few feet away from where the twins had been standing when they'd entered. Robin shook his head in an effort to shake the daze away; the shock of seeing the twins once more had his mind reeling.

It was as though he was in a fog, unable to completely process what was going on around him.

_How the hell did they get so strong? _Robin wondered as he slowly lifted himself up from the floor. _Patty just tossed me aside like I was a rag-doll! Were they always so powerful?! They're not their normal selves; they're fighting more like gods than angels._

The Boy Wonder got to his feet and slowly straightened his posture before he twisted from side to side and shrugged his shoulders in a circular motion, stretching out the muscle groups and preparing himself for the inevitable battle. He glanced back at the twins, who stood stewing in identical contempt, before averting his gaze to Slade, who stood completely motionless next to the vault.

He was sheltered by the shadows—contentedly watching the fracas unfold.

"What did you do to them, Slade?" Robin snapped, demanding an explanation from the masked man looming in the corner. "What kind of trick is this? Mind control? Brainwashing? Tell me what you did!"

A low, guttural snicker began to emanate from the darkened corner of the bank, slowly building into an iniquitous chuckle. Slade stepped forward, his hands folded behind his back as he walked, staring directly at Robin with elation in his eye.

"I did nothing of the sort, Robin," Slade stated evenly, looking thoroughly amused by the outburst. "Despite what you may be thinking, the Harmony Twins are not under my control right now. All I did was reunite the three of you. What you are experiencing isn't some elaborate fabrication, but rather the result of a poor decision made by a pathetic teenaged boy. Their pain… their rage… all of it starts and ends with you, Robin: you made a _big_ mistake when you abandoned the son and daughter of two well-known Celestial Gods; they hold powers that you have never before witnessed."

As Slade slowly slinked into the surrounding darkness, Robin looked once more toward the twins.

Their long hair had begun to billow around their bodies as they stood with fire in their glowing eyes; their gazes were firmly set upon the Boy Wonder, hazed minds a swirling torrent of suffering and rage. Robin swallowed hard; he didn't want to fight the Harmony Twins, but he knew that—if he was attacked—he would have no other choice.

"Percy, Patty, please…" Robin began softly, his heart pounding feverishly as he spoke. "I never wanted this for you… ot wasn't supposed to be this way. I'm sure if we could talk abo—"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Persephone squeaked, ordinarily amiable tone receding to unearthly hatred. "We're done talking to you!"

"We're done listening to all of your lies!" Patrokalos roared, eyes flashing brighter.

"Do you think you can just stand there and tell us that it wasn't your fault?!" Percy shrieked.

"That it was out of your hands?!" Patty shouted.

"You chose to leave us, Robin!" Persephone cried.

"You left us there to die!" Patrokalos howled.

"Guys," Robin choked out in a trembling voice. "Don't do this. I don't want to fight you."

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!" the twins screeched at the same time, walking forward as their hair reversed gravity and became weightless with the force of the power flooding through their veins: with a flash of sparkling light, the silver melted into the air and their long tresses once again became blonde... only now, their long hair was an iridescent white gold that flashed reddish gold one moment and platinum the next. "We're coming for you… and this time, we're not holding back. You betrayed the Angel of Darkness incarnate, and now your time has come. Don't worry, though: we only want to return the favor you gave us and make you SUFFER!"

Robin diverted his gaze toward the marble floor; he knew that all of the poor decisions he'd made had led to this moment, culminating in bloodshed. He took in a deep breath and sighed heavily, knowing that—by sunrise—one or two of them would most likely be dead; slaughtered at the hands of the other—all as Slade watched ominously from the sidelines, enjoying the show. Robin shook his head as he reached down to his utility belt and pulled out his bo-staff, sliding it open until it was as long as he was tall. He gripped the staff firmly with both of his hands, and held it out in front of himself defensively.

"Good choice: that'll make this a lot more interesting," Percy quipped, tossing her rippling blonde hair.

"We love it when things get interesting," Patty added slyly, gripping his sister's hand. "Get ready."

Their faces remained emotionless as they began to circle around Robin, who responded by mirroring their slow movements—refusing to turn his back on the teenaged girl and boy. The tension between the three was dense and palpable; as they circled around, staring each other down, the air in the room seemed to become electrically charged; as though—with one false move—the cosmos themselves would burn. Robin's eyes widened when the twins simultaneously lifted their arms and created a ring of blinding white fire. He could feel fear rise within him as he stared at the massive flames, watching as they swept around the area.

Robin stood completely still, his bo-staff held out defensively at arms-length, waiting for the twins to make their first move; Percy danced from foot to foot for a moment as her school skirt and hair bounced slightly—but suddenly, Patrokalos charged at Robin and swiped at him with his lithe blades before swinging his sister around and allowing her to send a deadly kick at his throat: she had water-spikes frozen to her shoes

Though surprised by the nimble movements of the duo, Robin dodged the attacks—rolling away toward the center of the Great Hall. The Titan leader quickly got to his feet, still clutching his bo-staff when Percy quickly used her momentum to flip her brother like an acrobat and the boy barreled towards him once again without pause: Robin could hear the echoing clacks of their dress shoes on the marble floor as the twins charged at him with a speed he'd seen only twice before.

Patrokalos swung his skinny arms at Robin and sent his swords flying down at him, who viciously battered the frozen blades with his bo-staff; in response, Persephone bolted forward, twisted her body, and—with great speed and power—twirled around her brother like a ballet star before she swung her own blades at Robin, who adroitly jumped away.

Seeing his opportunity to take the offensive, Robin quickly spun behind the girl, who remained slightly off-balance from her previous attack, and jumped into the air before delivering a spinning roundhouse to Persephone's lower back. The girl yipped in pain as Robin landed on the ground and swung his bo-staff mercilessly into the same spot; then Patrokalos swiped at him and an arc of blood flew into the air as the blonde sliced his cheek.

A sickening popping noise resonated throughout the room as Persephone twisted unpredictably and also swung at Robin—clipping his shoulder with her swords and forcing him to retreat as a result. Patrokalos gripped her hand and pulled her close while she gently massaged her back with a small hand, a silent grimace of pain twisting across her delicate face as she shook her hair out.

"Very good, Robin: always exploit your opponents weaknesses while playing to your strengths. Do whatever it takes…" Slade muttered from the darkness, his voice echoing from beside the vault. Robin gritted his teeth in anger as he cast a furtive glance toward the masked madman, who stood intently watching the chaos unfold before him. Before the Boy Wonder had time to retort, Persephone mewled in pain—diverting his attention away from Slade. Once again, Robin stood motionless, preparing to deflect their expected attacks. This time, however, the twins didn't move.

This time it was clear that the Harmony Twins wanted him to make the first move.

Robin swallowed hard, realizing that his original tactic was being used against him. Robin sprinted forward a few steps before leaping into the air. He clutched his staff with both hands and swung it perpendicular to Patty's face. In a flexible movement, the twins split apart and quickly ducked under the blow, sending the over-extended Boy Wonder stumbling into an adjacent wall.

Dazed, Robin readily spun around in time to see two feet swinging towards him.

Without hesitation, he raised his staff horizontally, staving off the attack; though he avoided the devastating blow, the sheer physical strength of the assault smashed Robin back-first into the wall; he winced in pain as the burns on his back and shoulders were mashed uncomfortably against the unforgiving surface. Robin quickly shook off his stinging pain and stood up straight, staring undauntedly at the Harmony Twins.

Persephone lunged at Robin with her hands, who—once again—held his staff out horizontally in order to parry the onslaught. Instead, the girl grabbed hold of Robin's bo-staff, driving the masked teen into the wall once more: Patrokalos joined her and crushed him into it even more, their fangs glinting in the moonlight as they fought against him. Robin gritted his teeth and strained every muscle, exerting as much force as he could muster against the formidable twins. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that he was being out-muscled by them: his arms began to tremble involuntarily from fatigue as he continued to push against the angels, frantically trying to free himself. Robin grunted and strained, attempting to wriggle away from the twins—who had him pinned against the wall by his bo-staff. He could feel flashes of pain surge through his back and shoulders as he tried to squirm free. Percy and Patty's threw back their heads and unleashed two ear-splitting shrieks that echoed throughout the Hall and stung Robin's ears.

With an explosive display of strength, the twins forced Robin's bo-staff against his throat and continued to bear down on him.

Robin's mind raced as he continued to writhe and flail; he could feel himself becoming lightheaded and queasy as the twins lifted up on the bo-staff, raising him into the air. The Boy Wonder could feel the blood rushing to his face, the veins in his forehead jutting out and feeling as though they would explode under the pressure. He drew in short shallow breaths; he knew he had to make his move before he blacked out. Robin shifted around painfully, tensing his neck muscles tightly to avoid being asphyxiated. With a sudden jerking movement, he managed to free his right arm; he reached down to his utility belt and blindly searched the compartments.

Robin gasped for air as he pulled a few explosive disks from his belt; his vision began getting dim and blurry as he took aim at the twins in front of him. He choked in a short breath and gripped down on the bo-staff with his left hand, steadying himself; with a monumental effort, he chucked the explosive devices in the direction of the blondes. Persephone and Patrokalos screamed in pain as the explosives made contact and detonated; the two of them stumbled backward and doubled over in pain. Similarly, the force of the blast violently smashed Robin against the wall, tearing open the flesh wounds he had previously sustained.

Moreover, he fell roughly to the ground, his bo-staff clattering noisily to the marble floor as he lay gasping and wheezing.

He slowly began collecting himself, methodically rising from his side to his knees and from his knees to his feet. As he stood up straight, he took a few deep breaths, filling his lungs completely with air and savoring each breath before slowly exhaling: he looked at the twins, who remained on their knees. They were both doubled over in pain, and Percy was clutching her limp arm. However, when the girl stood up and pulled her brother to his feet with shaking movements, the Boy Wonder saw that her fragile face was twisted in agony: one of Robin's explosive disks had made direct contact with her shoulder, blowing open a sizable wound in her pale flesh.

A stream of blood trickled slowly from Percy's small shoulder, running down her arm and dripping off of her fingertips where it stained the marble floor. The girl reached over with her right arm and pressed the palm of her hand roughly into the laceration, applying pressure to the area to stave the bleeding. Patrokalos hissed in pain and frustration before he gripped his sister's hands.

Both blondes looked up and glared at Robin, glowing eyes filled with unbridled hate.

"Most impressive, Robin: the twins may have had you on the run, but you kept your composure and thought on your feet," Slade snickered from beside the vault. "Inventiveness and quick-thinking are your two greatest assets. Now that you've wounded them, use it to your advantage!"

Robin ignored Slade, keeping his eyes focused entirely on the bleeding twins standing before him.

Percy and Patty breathed in and out slowly and deliberately, catching their breath while trying to slow their heart rates; Persephone took her blood-soaked right hand away from her injured left shoulder and wiped her hand on the black fabric of her skirt. The girl recalled her swords in a flash of light and took a few steps toward Robin, her steps even and light as she approached.

"Come on, Robin," Persephone whispered, voice sounding gentle with the force of her ire. "Don't get soft on us now. You had no problem leaving me and my brother to die on the bridge. Don't tell me that you aren't man enough to try and kill us again."

"Guys, I don't want it to end this way," Robin shouted, his voice crackling perceptibly. "However, if you stand in my way and try to stop me from doing what needs to be done, then I will have no choice!"

Percy and Patty stopped walking and shook their heads with an identical incredulous expression. Percy drew in a breath and sighed heavily, rotating her left shoulder and testing her range of motion before vigorously stretching the area. She looked at her wounded shoulder for a moment, which slowly streamed blood, before looking back at Robin—who stood with his bo-staff at the ready.

"You never did," Persephone gently pointed out. "You lost the chance to make a decision when you abandoned us."

"You'll never learn, will you?" Patrokalos asked softly, staring his leader in the eyes. "Even after all that's happened?"

Robin charged at the twins, swinging his bo-staff at Percy's head; the goddess ducked under the blow and spun around in time to deflect another attack. However, with great speed and force, Robin delivered a side-kick to Patrokalos's temple, sending the blonde boy crashing to the ground, half-unconscious. Hissing at her brother's pain, Percy sprinted toward Robin—who recoiled slightly, bringing his bo-staff up to eye-level; he took a step back from the advancing goddess and waited for her to make her move.

"IN A WORLD THAT HAS ENDED!" Persephone randomly sang, using the first spontaneous lyrics that popped into her head as the focal point for her powers. As her body rippled with heat from the energy, the girl lifted her uninjured palm and aiming it at the startled Boy Wonder just as she reached full speed; a lightning bolt exploded out of her hand and Robin took a direct hit to the chest. Before he could fly backwards from the power of the electricity, the blonde girl tackled him head on using her super speed, diving straight into his stomach like a linebacker.

For a moment, everything went black.

The crushing impact sent Robin flying backwards, causing him to lose his grip on his bo-staff again, which fell noisily to the floor near the blonde girl's head; the two of them landed roughly before the went somersaulting in different directions—tumbling end-over-end before coming to a rest. Robin slowly pushed himself up, his arms quivering from fatigue as he panted and coughed loudly, trying to catch his breath as his muscles jerked and twitched from having so much electricity course through it.

His chest felt like it was on fire: the lightning bolt Percy had shot at him had cracked a few of his ribs _and_ burned his body.

As Robin lifted himself to his hands and knees, he could taste blood in the back of his throat; he grimaced at the unpleasantness and spat, spewing a thick glob of blood and saliva to the pristine marble floor below. Robin slowly collected himself, struggling to get to his feet. After a moment, he regained his bearings and footing and stood up, staring at Persephone... who had also climbed to her feet.

Patrokalos was sitting on the ground and rubbing his head, looking disoriented.

His twin sister protectively stood in front him, holding Robin's bo-staff in both hands.

The Titan leader looked back at her in anticipation, practically begging her to make the first move.

After a moment of high tension and awkward silence, Persephone D'Andesyrius slowly made her way toward Robin; in a cal display of ferocious strength, she applied great force to both ends of Robin's staff, bending it in half before tossing it carelessly over her shoulder. Without hesitation, the girl furiously dashed at Robin: the boy reached down to his utility belt and pulled out two bird-a-rangs, deftly converting them into a sword.

He swallowed hard as he held the weapon tightly and charged at the advancing teenager.

"NOBODY HITS MY BROTHER!" she screeched, glowing eyes raining tears as she leapt into the air, razor-sharp ice swords extended and preparing to tear into Robin's flesh. The Titan Leader, however, dodged the vicious attack; wasting no time, Percy whipped around and lunged at the Boy Wonder with a shriek. Seeing his opportunity, Robin rolled to the side and swiped at the girl with his own sword.

He heard a small, catlike squeak as he landed, but when he scrambled to his feet, Robin could see the tip of his sword coated in a thin layer of blood. As he looked in Persephone's direction, he noticed a small trail of blood droplets on the floor, pooling where the wounded girl stood motionlessly. Robin stood—panting from fatigue—with his sword at the ready as the small blonde girl slowly turned around.

However, his eyes widened in shock as he looked at Persephone.

As he stared with greater scrutiny, Robin could see blood beginning to stain the front of her blazer, growing wider and wider as it spilled steadily from a wound across her abdomen. Her glowing white eyes rippled like water and became electric blue as she stared at him with angry tears streaming down her face. Even as he watched, her shaking legs buckled and she fell to her knees.

"PERSEPHONE!" Patrokalos wailed, eyes returning to normal with a jolt as he crawled over to her. "Percy! Percy!"

"I..." the girl whispered, muscles trembling, "I'm fine."

Even though Persephone was gravely wounded and losing a lot of blood, Robin kept his distance, remaining a few feet away from the tattered god and goddess. Robin's mind raced now, however; he knew that—at this moment—he had the upper hand. Had this been any ordinary battle with any ordinary opponent, he wouldn't have hesitated to deliver the decisive and final blow.

Yet, this wasn't an ordinary battle…

He wasn't facing ordinary opponents...

This wasn't a psychopath, a sociopath, or a hardened criminal; this was Persephone and Patrokalos—the same boy and girl who liked to play the piano for hours on end, the same boy and girl who liked to read teen chick magazines, watch American Idol, tell jokes, and cook tofu-based breakfasts for everyone with huge smiles on their faces. These weren't some heartless, soulless evildoer who had consciously and knowingly done wrong for their own selfish purposes. Percy and Patty were angry teenagers who felt betrayed.

Sure, they were confused, hostile, and dogmatic—but they were _anything_ but evil.

Robin remained motionless and expressionless as he stared blankly at Persephone, who mewled angrily, clearly in agony; with her brother's help, the wounded girl slowly climbed to her feet and clasped his hand, slowly pacing back and forth with tentative movements as the girl clutched her stomach. Robin took in a deep breath and held it in: he had to make yet another difficult decision. He could continue fighting with the twins and risk the safety and security of Jump City or take the girl out of the equation, opening all paths to Slade. Robin's heart raced rapidly as he continued to stare at the two blondes.

He knew the decision he was about to make would haunt him forever.

_I need to stop Slade. His plan isn't a threat… it's a promise. With the Sarin gas in place, he could silently slaughter droves of people with the push of a button. If I can get to him, I'm sure I can stop him._ Robin thought, weighing his options. Robin averted his eyes to the floor for a moment, shaking his head from side to side in consternation. _However, the twins are standing in my way. They aren't interested in listening to anything I have to say, so reasoning with them is pointless. They have every right to hate me—what I did was unforgivable. However, if I let Slade release the chemicals, good people—innocent people—will die. Part of being a leader is having to live with the repercussions that no one else wants to make; I have to put my feelings aside for the greater good…._

"Is that what you told yourself when you left us?" Patrokalos asked softly, blue eyes glittering with tears. "It was for the greater good?"

Robin froze as his stomach flipped.

"You're a monster," Persephone hissed out, shoulders shaking as her face took on a look of horror. "You're a monster, Robin."

"Wh-what?!" the boy squeaked.

"We can hear your thoughts," Patrokalos stated in a low voice, mouth trembling in agonized rage. "Raven trained us with everything she had, Robin. Beast Boy taught us how to laugh. Cyborg gave us the tools we needed to forge ahead in life. Starfire gave us the ability to face each day with a smile. But you... you did nothing but lie to the two of us. You make me sick to my stomach, Robin: have you ever heard of the saying, 'live to fight another day?' Because if you haven't, I doubt you'll make it as a superhero."

"I just want you to know," Persephone stated coldly, "that you won't be able to take us out. There _is_ no _'second decision' _because you don't have the chance to make it thanks to _us,_ you worthless mother fucker. I'm sick of being betrayed by the people I love the most. I'm sick of having the people who actually _love_ us get taken out of my life because people like _you_ have some petty thing for power. Robin... you're not going to win this."

"We're done playing nice," Patrokalos finished. "We're not holding back: it's win or die."

Robin stared at the twins in horror as silence prevailed—making the dimly-lit bank seem eerie.

The twins faces contorted in anger as she glared at him, clenching their shaking fists; Robin could feel a torrent of emotions stirring within him as he looked at his bloodied friends; he felt his eyes stinging as they filled up with tears, watching as they lifted their arms and crossed their hands, both of them throwing their heads back. Taking a deep breath, the twins looked up at the stars through the skylight.

And let out a screech that sundered reality, bending it to their will.

The clouds above swirled around in the air, seemingly forming out of nowhere: a beam of light shredded the sky and slammed through the glass, enveloping the twins in an aura that left them virtually weightless. Their long hair fanned out and began to ripple like liquid fire, tossing around wildly as a roaring wind exploded down from the sky with a deafening, electrical roaring noise.

The whirlwind he'd seen only twice before swirled around them as the light was pulled out of the air.

Robin grit his teeth as the shadows around him grew completely black, and he charged toward the twins: with deft movements, he disconnected the sword into two different halves and drew them back. Before the twins could react he tackled them—impaling both blondes with the disjointed blades. Persephone's breath hitched as he collided with them, eyes blanking out as the world tilted oddly and numbness engulfed her middle; Patrokalos let out a breathless gasp as he found himself tilting in silence, feeling an odd sensation of pressure filling his stomach. With a flash and an implosion of light and sound, their energy dissolved before the two of them hit the ground.

Persephone landing on her injured shoulder and smeared blood on the floor as she skidded across it, coming to a halt against the wall; Patrokalos merely rolled and slid beside her, creating a red smear of his own. As the two of them came to a rest side by side, they found themselves unable to see or think clearly; rather, they lay on the cold marble floor, convulsing in agony.

Robin, who had leapt away after he'd stabbed the twins and sent them flying, walked slowly across the floor of the Grand Hall. He looked down at the incapacitated blondes writhing on the floor with their eyes squeezed shut, feeling a palpable sadness rising within him. After all, it was never supposed to have come to this: it was never meant to be Titan versus Titan in a duel to the death. Being a hero was supposed to be cut and dry: fight the bad guys, soundly defeat them, lock them in prison, and move on with life.

Robin sighed heavily; he could only wonder in the back of his mind how things could have gone so horribly wrong. As Robin stepped away from the twins, he could hear low growls emanating from the god and goddess. He turned his head around, staring at the spot where the twins had been lying motionlessly. To his surprise, both blondes had managed to pull themselves from the floor.

Though bloodied from multiple wounds, their eyes had become red as they glared fiercely at the stunned Boy Wonder.

Robin whirled around, preparing to defend himself once more; he raised his sword defensively as the agitated angels slowly approached, hands interlaced. The twins startled him by breaking into a sprint, darting toward Robin with great speed. Before the Boy Wonder had time to react, they tackled him—knocking him down and pinning him to the floor. As Robin hit the ground, his sword clattered noisily at his side before sliding out of reach. Persephone and Patty each slammed a hand on one of Robin's shoulders as they pinned him down.

Robin squawked loudly as the two blondes pressed his ailing back and shoulders into the rigid marble floor before flailing maniacally, reeling from the pain as he attempted to free himself. As he struggled mightily to wriggle away, Percy and Patty slowly dug their long nails into Robin's flesh, piercing his skin and tearing into the underlying muscles and tissue; Robin caterwauled from the agonizing pain that flooded through him, blood running freely from the wounds. The twins glared as their faces contorted at the same time, sparkling blue eyes hovering just inches above Robin's petrified face. They both dug their nails deeper into Robin's shoulders, keeping him firmly in place while deterring him from writhing away.

Robin insides cramped and contorted, filling with fear as he looked into the primal—seemingly unfeeling—gaze of the blondes pinning him down so easily. He could feel a lump forming in the back of his throat as his heart pounded frenetically and his breathing became labored. The twins mercilessly tore their hands from Robin's shoulders.

The Boy Wonder gaped in horror when the twins drew back their wrists and water swirled out of the air before freezing into two frozen swords. He wriggled from side-to-side in an effort to get free, but the twins kept his upper-body completely immobilized. Though he had been trained to show no fear and remain composed in volatile situations, trepidation permeated his mind; his arms were pinned down by the girl's legs, preventing him from reaching his utility belt.

He stared headlong at the twins, who returned his gaze; their neck muscles tensed as they glared at him in sync, fists shaking as the blondes held the glistening sword poised above him. Identical streams of tears began falling from their eyes at the same time, falling just as a trickle of blood dripped from their lips: both liquids dropped onto Robin's cheek, and both were hot enough to burn.

He could feel their breath on his skin as they both panted weakly, warmth lingering for a moment before dissipating. Robin swallowed hard; he knew he had to make a move and his eyes darted around, searching for something—anything—he could use to his advantage. From the corner of his eye, he saw Persephone's wounded side, coated in blood and glistening crimson in the light of the moon. Robin felt his stomach turn; he had no desire to inflict further injury on the girl _or_ her brother—but it was his only option.

Without hesitation, Robin moved his head back slowly before bringing it forward with great speed and fury—bashing Patrokalos in the face; when the boy flinched and moved recoiling from the pain, Robin took the opportunity to head-butt Percy in the jaw. The girl squealed and squeezed her eyes shut in pain, but her brother repositioned himself over Robin and swung his sword-clad hand back once more, preparing to strike. Robin, however, took advantage of their distraction and managing to free his right leg.

Before the enraged blonde boy could plunge his blade into Robin's throat, the Boy Wonder bushed Persephone's injured midsection with his knee. He repeatedly drove his knee into the girl's torso, exacerbating her injuries; Patty lost concentration when Percy shrieked and drew back, so Robin freed his other leg and kicked the two of them in the chest, sending the twins sliding backward to the floor. Robin sat up slightly and shuffled backwards, putting some distance between himself and the infuriated teenagers.

He rolled to the side and quickly got to his feet, sprinting toward his sword, which lay on the floor several feet away. As Robin ran toward the sword, he heard screech of rage from behind him. Paying no heed, he pressed on—reaching down for his weapon.

As he grabbed the sword by the hilt, he felt something sharp tear into his back.

Paralyzed by the agonizing ache, Robin fell to the floor in a heap, losing his grip on the blade which slid out of reach. He landed face-down; the cold marble surface stinging his skin as he remained completely still. He took in a deep breath before slowly rolling over; as he looked up, the silhouettes of a small girl and tall boy hung over him. Robin gasped in fright and scooted backward, finding himself backed into a corner: his mind raced as the twins continued to approach, bearing their teeth in rage.

Thinking quickly, he reached down to his utility belt and pulled out two explosive disks; as Robin cocked his arm, the imposing twins quickly lunged forward. Before he could release the explosive disks, Percy kicked them from his grasp and the disks flew high into the air, landing on the other end of the Great Hall where they exploded. The blast rattled the building; dust fell from the ceiling as the ornate chandeliers overhead swayed to and fro, their glass crystals noisily clanking together. Robin shrieked in pain, clenching his right wrist with his left hand and pulling it closely—protectively—to his body; the punishing blow from the girl's foot had pulverized the bones in the Boy Wonder's forearm. The acerbic ache radiated through Robin's arm, eliciting stifled groans of anguish from injured teen. He looked down at his wounded limb for a moment before looking back up at the twins.

Robin rapidly reached down into his utility belt and pulled out two smoke pellets.

Wasting no time, he smashed them onto the floor, shrouding the room in a dense white smoke which billowed upward.

Using the smoke screen as cover, Robin slowly got to his feet—dodging glancing blows from the god and goddess before silently scampering away. Percy and Patty took a moment to steady themselves using each other: the twins closed their eyes and lifted their heads high into the air, inhaling deeply at the same moment. The two of them breathed repeatedly, allowing their keen senses of smell to take everything in; while the ashen scent of the smoke still clung to the air, they could also detect a faint metallic odor.

Blood.

The twins kept their eyes tightly closed as they walked through the lingering smoke, following the wounded traitor. Robin managed to stumble to the far corner of the bank, which remained ensconced in darkness; he hid underneath a granite counter, which stood directly next to the expansive marble service counter. He crouched down, pulling his knees to his chest; sharp, biting surges of pain wracked his entire body, from his back and shoulders to his ribs and wrist. He bit the inside of his cheeks, whimpering to himself.

As Robin remained silently crouched, he could hear the soft clacking of school dress shoes approaching from the other side of the Great Hall. His heart pounded feverishly—like a jackhammer—before jumping into his throat; his stomach began to turn, knotting up and cramping all at once. His blood had become thick and sticky, clinging to him like a second skin. Robin looked out into the Great Hall from underneath the granite countertop. Though the thick smoke had risen to the ceiling, the atmosphere of the Hall remained hazy, dimming the light pouring into the large domicile from the vault.

He breathed in and out, slowly and silently, his body quaking involuntarily as he exhaled. Beads of sweat formed at his brow before sliding down his the side of his face and off of his chin. He was wounded and tired—but worse still, he was trapped; outgunned and over-matched by a teenaged girl and boy. Robin bit down harder on the inside of his cheeks to prevent himself from crying out as the twins drew closer, advancing on him with emotionless eyes. Neither blonde could see him, they were easily following the scent of his blood across the Hall. Within moments, the angels were standing motionlessly over the granite counter, looking around.

Silence prevailed for an instant; though to Robin, this brief period of time seemed to interminably stretch on.

"Robin!" Persephone shrieked—and in a quick, salient movement, the blonde girl and her twin brother leapt into the air and brought their powerful legs crashing down upon the granite counter—reducing it to rubble instantly. Several large pieces of the debris struck Robin in the head and upper back as he scurried free, attempting to evade the angry twins; he stumbled to the floor for a moment before rising once more. Upon hearing Robin's steel-toed boots clamoring against the marble floor as he attempted to flee, the twins readily turned in the direction of the noise—facing the beleaguered Boy Wonder. Robin stood, staring at the blondes before him, steadily backing away. With no weapon to muster any sort of effective offense, he was quickly running out of options.

His fight or flight instinct began to nag at him: while his unfettered pride and arrogance persuaded him to stand his ground and confront the Harmony Twins, fear and common sense tried to convince him otherwise; to flee, thereby ensuring his safety. Robin's mind raced as he stared at the trembling boy and girl, slowly retreating.

_If I run, I may survive for the moment—but with no one to oppose him, Slade would go through with his plan. If I stay and fight, I may die—but at least I'd go down fighting…_ Robin thought, considering both options.

The boy took a deep breath and steadied himself, digging his feet into the ground and brought his arms up defensively. The twins lowered their heads and, with identical a screams of anger, charged at Robin. In response, Robin dashed at the advancing blondes. Percy swiped at the Boy Wonder, who narrowly dodged the attacks; Patty tried to decapitate him, and he ducked.

As the two continued to close in, Robin stepped to the slammed his foot violently into Patty's injured ribs, eliciting a wail of agony and a screech of rage. Persephone saw red as her anger boiled over; she lunged at Robin, who managed to avoid and elude her. With a running start, Robin barreled toward the girl... and as he passed by, he clubbed the angel in the cheek with his fist.

Persephone recoiled, her mind reeling as the shockwaves of pain stunned him.

She quickly shook off his discomfort as Robin whirled back around, coming in for a second assault. As Robin sped toward her, Percy waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to strike—waiting until the Boy Wonder had built up too much momentum to stop or change direction. As the masked teen raced toward her, preparing to unleash another barrage of punches and kicks to her sufficiently wounded body, the blonde girl crouched and prepared herself as her muscles tensed.

Her brother was coughing up blood: he was incapacitated, so she had to be strong.

As Robin leapt into the air, Persephone D'Andesyrius leapt up into the air as well and drove her unarmed fist forward, straight into Robin's abdomen. The black-haired boy's eyes as his mask flew off and he fell to the floor in a heap; Persephone pinned her opponent to the floor, growling like a wildcat as her eyes flashed and her hair long hair swirled around like a curtain. Robin peered up at the enraged blonde girl, completely defeated and incapacitated, and shivered as blood poured from his upper abdominal region.

"Well done, Persephone: you and Patrokalos truly embody the spirit of God," Slade remarked, clearly impressed. "You are highly adaptable and change your will to match different situations. You are not deterred by change; challenged by it, but never deterred."

The villain walked casually—his hands folded demurely behind his back—from the corner of the room where he had watched the scene unfold. His steps resonated throughout the now-tranquil Hall, echoing hollowly. He stood in front of the open vault, his long silhouette stretching forth and melding with the surrounding darkness. The small girl diverted her attention from the ailing Boy Wonder for a moment and looked at Slade—who remained in front of the vault.

"Percy," Patrokalos choked, looking up with stunned eyes before he commanded silently, _'don't do it._'

"You know what you must do. Darwinism… survival of the fittest," Slade sneered, looking down at her. "You and your brother are survivors, my dear girl. Despite being abandoned and left to die, you pulled through; now, you have an opportunity to right a personal injustice… to respond in a manner that appeals to your nature. Kill him, Percy… do it now—without mercy and without regard!"

Persephone shivered and glanced back down at Robin, who was too fatigued and weak to resist.

He continued to bleed profusely from his wounds; as he lay on his back, tributaries of blood collected in small pools before rolling off of his side and down to the floor, soaking into the backside of his uniform. He moaned softly as he stared up at his assailant, shivering violently. Persephone's blue eyes dilated as she returned Robin's gaze; the Boy Wonder's arctic blue eyes were pleading with her, asking for forgiveness and leniency all at once. Persephone's eyes remained dilated as she slowly lifted her hand into the air—withdrawing a spray of water and freezing it as she prepared to deliver the killing blow across Robin's throat.

"Finish Him!" Slade shouted, goading the goddess.

Patrokalos merely looked on in horror as his twin sister raised her shaking arm.

Robin gasped in terror as the girl drew her fist back and the blade came barreling down at a break-neck speed.

In that moment, his mind went completely blank; fear permeating every fiber of his being.

In that moment, his heart practically seized from fright.

In that moment—as the sharp, blade ice shard approached, seemingly in slow motion—he realized that he had failed.

He had failed as a leader, as a hero, and—most importantly—as an older brother.


	37. Chapter 36: To Rescue a Raven

**Chapter Thirty-Six: To Rescue a Raven**

Cyborg raced through the virtually empty Jump City streets, his feet pounding the asphalt as he ran; as he moved forward, the cybernetic teen kept his eyes fixed on the sensors in his right arm, which had a lock on Raven's signal. He did not know how long he had been running, nor did he care. Though he was thoroughly exhausted and operating on reserve power and adrenaline, he paid no heed; all that mattered was locating Raven. As he reached the end of the road, coming to a crossroads, Cyborg dug his heels into the ground, abruptly halting his momentum. He stared intently at the screen embedded in his arm as he caught his breath; sweat beading at his brow before dripping down the human side of his face.

He stood, panting heavily, concentrating on Raven's signal; after a moment, he averted his gaze from his sensors, focusing instead on his surroundings. Cyborg stood at the end of the three-way intersection, staring straight ahead at a large, ornate building. The building itself was comprised almost entirely in red brick, save for the entrance archway, which was constructed of limestone. The rows of windows—which lined all ten stories of the building—were trimmed in limestone, adding to the majesty and opulence of the structure.

A limestone staircase led to the building's entrance from the street below. Cyborg peered left and right, studying the environs of the stunning, aristocratic building. The streets were lined with various shops and stores. To his left, a mom and pop grocery store and a small café, both quaint and contemporary in design, stood; their storefront windows still intact, spared the fate which had befallen so many small businesses in Jump City. To his right, were a sleepy-looking bookstore and a gas station.

He sighed heavily, his chest falling visibly, as he stared at his sensors, at his surroundings, back at his sensors, and once again at his surroundings, furrowing his brow in frustration and confusion. As he stood, lost in thought, an affable female voice—emanating from just behind and above him—snapped him from his reverie.

"Cyborg, what is it that troubles you?" Starfire spoke softly, floating just above her mechanical teammate.

Cyborg shook his head emphatically from side-to-side, clearly perplexed as his eyes remained glued to the sensors in his arm. His brow rutted perceptibly as his expression of optimism receded into one of consternation.

"According to my sensors, Raven is in this building up ahead on the top floor. It just… doesn't add up…" Cyborg stated hesitantly, clearly bewildered.

"How so, friend?" Starfire asked quizzically as she slowly descended to the ground, gently placing her feet on the asphalt below as Beast Boy morphed into his human form.

"C'mon, Star!" Beast Boy interjected exasperatingly. "This is Slade we are dealing with. He keeps his operations mostly underground, and even then he's careful to never choose a location that stands out."

"Yeah, and does any of this look secretive to you?" Cyborg shouted, his voice bitingly animated, to the point of derision.

Starfire stood blankly for a moment. She closed her eyes and hung her head, folding her hands in front of herself decorously; though she did not want them to notice, she was hurt slightly by her friends' caustic words. However, Starfire's reticence didn't go unnoticed. Cyborg, who checked the various controls in his arm once more, was taken aback by the stillness that gripped the air. He quickly turned around to face the Tamaranian, who appeared as though she was studying the pavement, her normally blithe demeanor disintegrating into quiescence. Cyborg's frazzled expression softened, realizing that he had—albeit unintentionally—hurt her feelings.

"Oh, man, Star…" Cyborg began softly as he turned around and faced Starfire, gently placing his sizable mechanical hands on her shoulders, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have yelled like I did. It was wrong of me…"

"Yeah, same here." Beast Boy sighed, awkwardly rubbing his neck. Upon hearing their apologies, Starfire's eyes immediately brightened. Though she tried to suppress a smile, it could not be contained; she found herself brimming for a moment, smiling unrepentantly. Her smile quickly faded, however, as the severity of the situation at hand once again sprang to mind. As Starfire ran all of the variables through her calculating mind, she took a few steps toward the aristocratic building at the end of the intersection.

"What is it?" Beast Boy asked inquisitively as he casually walked up next to the alien girl.

"I-I know that you are both worried for Raven." Starfire began softly, her voice wavering at first before becoming more assertive and confident, "I know that you are most afraid of losing her. I know that you do not believe that your sensors are correct and that this is merely a ruse designed to keep us scouring the city in search of our friend… Yet, even if it is but a trap, it is our only lead to finding Raven. We have to at least look a little further, yes?"

Cyborg nodded in assent, his face brimming with determination. He stared unblinkingly at the brick and limestone building in front of him, pondering a myriad of different tactics and strategies. After a few moments of cogitation, Cyborg snapped back to reality and turned to Starfire, who was already facing him, waiting to hear his plan.

"We have to play this smart," Cyborg said matter-of-factly. "I don't want to go into a potential hostage situation blindly. What we need is to take a closer look at exactly what's going on up there. We need to see how many captors there are, where Raven is located, and how heavily armed they are."

"Ideally, I would like to get Raven out of there as stealthily as possible." Cyborg stated. "But, if we have to take her back by force…"  
Cyborg turned to Beast Boy and Starfire, looking them in the eyes. The two stared back at their mechanical friend, gazes frighteningly serious—nigh zealous—as they not only understood his insinuation, but seemed more than willing to acquiesce.

"Whatever it takes…" Beast Boy asserted steadfastly.

Cyborg's eye widened upon hearing Starfire's normally amiable voice retrogress into something primal and intimidating. The three heroes took a moment to regain equanimity; a silence of camaraderie prevailed. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg knew what needed to be done and were more than willing to respond accordingly. Beast Boy morphed a falcon and Starfire hooked her arms securely under Cyborg's as they all slowly ascended into the night sky. She flew to the left, over the small grocery store and trendy café, before quickly soaring upward.

The frigid night air rushed passed them, stinging their skin as they traversed the firmament, rising into the air until they were high above the roof of the red brick building. Cyborg swallowed hard as he looked down to the ground below; his stomach cramping up painfully as he stared. The intersection looked completely different from a bird's eye view; the small shops below looked like lego blocks littered around the T-shaped intersection. The streets were adorned in an orange hue—glowing ethereally—as the streetlights burned softly, cutting through the darkness of the nocturne. Cyborg could feel sweat beading at his brow, instantly chilled by the bitter winter air; he was unaccustomed to flying, preferring to keep his feet firmly on the ground.

"Jeez, Star!" Cyborg moaned, his voice wavering perceptibly, "Are you TRYING to scare me to death?"

"Apologies, friend," Starfire replied, suppressing a giggle, amused by her cybernetic teammate's bewildered countenance as he swayed to and fro in her grasp, clearly uncomfortable. "I wanted to be sure that we would not be detected. If the building's occupants could see us coming we would not have the element of surprise, correct?"

"Good thinking, Star," Cyborg replied sheepishly, taking in a deep breath; his heart was beating a mile-a-minute. "If they saw us coming, they could hurt Raven. It is best that we stay out of sight."

They waited for a moment more, aloft above the city. Once they were sure that they had not been seen, Starfire slowly descended toward the crown of the ornate building below.

She set Cyborg on the roof gingerly before landing next to him while Beast Boy morphed back into a human. The rooftop was unremarkable, comprised of concrete slabs. A cast iron guard-rail enclosed the rooftop, and several large, aluminum ventilation ducts rose out through the concrete from inside of the building. A red-brick structure jutted out noticeably from the middle of the roof. From a cursory glance, it appeared to be little more than a storage shed. Upon further inspection, however, it became clear that it was an access door to the building.

Cyborg stood in front of the roof access door for a moment, pondering the best course of action.

It would be easy to simply barge in, using the element of surprise, and take Raven back by force. Without knowing exactly what awaited them, however, such a strategy appeared to be tactless at best. He sighed heavily. On one hand, he knew that discretion was indeed the better part of valor; at the same time, however, he found himself wishing that sheer force would have the same effect while achieving the desired result.

"What's wrong, Cy?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg hung his head for a moment. He rubbed the back of his neck roughly with his right hand as he stared at the concrete beneath his feet. He sighed once more.

"I don't know…" Cyborg began feebly at first, slowly gaining momentum as he formulated his thoughts, "I guess… I wish that Robin was here right now. He always knows what to do in tight situations like this. He makes it seem effortless."

Starfire placed her hand on Cyborg's shoulder. He immediately peeled his eyes from the roof below and looked at the Tamaranian who stood beside him, a ghost of a smile upon her face.

"I, too, wish that Robin was here. He is our leader and always handles predicaments such as these with efficacy. Yet, just because he is an effective leader does not mean he is the only one fit to lead. You and Robin think differently. You both have different strengths and qualities. Perhaps those differences will allow us to be successful."

Starfire's words rang sweetly in Cyborg's ears, eliciting a smile from the mechanical man.

With renewed confidence, he glanced around the rooftop; though he didn't know exactly what he was looking for, he hoped to spark his imagination and formulate a workable plan. As his eyes darted across the rooftop, something caught his peripheral; he turned and quickly noticed one of the aluminum ventilation ducts. He watched as thick steam poured from the duct, rising high into the sky like a vindicated wraith.

"That's it!" Cyborg said barely above a whisper, excitement permeating his hushed tone.

"I do not understand…" Starfire said quietly, furrowing her brow in confusion, "What discovery have you made?"

"Heat!" Cyborg said ecstatically, practically beaming. "With my sensors, I can isolate heat signatures emitted from the building. If I do a thermal scan on the tenth floor—the floor where Raven is being held—I will be able to determine how many captors there are."

Cyborg knelt down, lowering himself to one knee. He placed his left hand on the cold, concrete surface of the roof and propped his right arm against his knee. He looked intently at the information coming across the screen in his right arm, his eyebrow raising involuntarily as he remained crouched.

"I'm picking up three sources of heat from the tenth floor." Cyborg stated evenly, tweaking his sensors. "All three thermal signatures are registering at 98.6 degrees."

"That is most glorious news!" Starfire said mirthfully, clasping her hands together in glee, "That means that Raven is unharmed!"

"That's not all. It also means we're not dealing with Slade-bots. We're dealing with two humans, which complicates things…" Cyborg replied brusquely, his booming voice dispelling the silence of the night. He slowly got to his feet, straightening out his posture before turning to Starfire and Beast Boy. "We have to make our move now."

"What do you suggest, Cy?" Beast Boy asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Cyborg's expression went blank for a moment as he lightly stroked his chin in cogitation. An icy gust of wind whipped by, astringently nipping at his face and arms, raising goosebumps on his skin. He glanced skyward for but a moment, staring into the cosmos and admiring the tranquility of the night. He knew that in order to reclaim Raven, they would have to be like the night: silent, strong, and discreet.

"Alright, here's the plan," Cyborg stated. "B.B. I want you and Starfire to hover outside of the windows on the tenth floor. I want you both to peek in and size up exactly who we are facing and—if possible—locate Raven. Star, have your communicator at the ready; we're going to need to be in constant contact. I want to hear everything that is going on inside of this building…"

"I understand, but what about you?" Starfire asked softly while Beast Boy nodded in agreement; Cyborg turned toward the roof access door, then looked over his shoulder at the Tamaranian princess and shot her a wry smile before smirking at his buddy.

"You know me, guys. Subtlety may be a virtue in a situation like this, but it's hardly my style," Cyborg said facetiously, turning away once more and quietly opening the roof access door, which led to a metal staircase. "I'm going inside to wait for your signal… and when the time is right, I'm going to bust their damn door down and get Raven outta there."

He moved methodically and deliberately down the stairwell, hoping to remain undetected. He paused as he reached the bottom of the staircase, standing motionlessly in front of a second metal door. He brought his right arm up to shoulder level before activating his communicator, opening a direct link between Starfire and himself. Static blared for a moment, noticeably reverberating through the austere stairwell; once the vehement hissing died down, a clear image of Starfire appeared on the screen.

"Star," Cyborg called, his voice barely above a whisper, "do you and B.B. have a visual?"

"We do…" Starfire said softly, nodding slowly as she spoke, "From my estimation, this building is residential... I peered into several unoccupied rooms; one of which was a bedroom. The window of that room was shattered, as well… though I cannot explain why."

"Can you see Raven?" Cyborg asked tersely.

"I cannot see our friend. I believe she is currently out of my line of sight." Starfire replied sternly, "I did, however, catch a glimpse of a man and a woman standing in the kitchen. They appeared to be conversing with one another, though I could not hear what they were discussing."

Cyborg put his back to the concrete wall adjacent to the metal door which led to the interior of the building. He mumbled muffled obscenities under his breath, frustrated by the precariousness of their current situation. Blind infiltration was always a last resort. Entering the building without knowing Raven's exact position was foolish and potentially dangerous. Cyborg sighed as he wracked his brain, searching for a sensible solution.

"Star, I want you to look through every window," Cyborg continued, speaking lowly. "See if you can find out where she is. There is a third thermal signature coming from somewhere inside of that room… currently it is unaccounted for, so keep looking. I am going to position myself at the front door. I'll wait there until we get visual confirmation…"

**TXXXXXT**

Raven groaned hoarsely as she slowly roused from her extemporaneous slumber. She cupped her face with both of her hands, rubbing her bloodshot violet eyes roughly. Her head ached viciously, and with every heartbeat a surge of pain shot through her cranium, adding to her discomfort and disorientation. She took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, attempting in vain to block out the incessant throbbing.

After a moment, she ran her hands down her face before resting them at the top of her chest.

As she opened her eyes, her surroundings slowly came into focus, startling the wounded and weary Empath. The half-demon jolted up frenetically, wincing in pain from the caustic wound to her abdomen; she could not recall where she was. She gritted her teeth, choking back a yelp of pain as she sat up. She looked down, noticing that she was wrapped up in a large, flannel blanket, which was snugly tucked around her legs and feet. As she stared at the blanket, she slowly began to remember what had transpired.

_"I have to do this, Raven… alone. I know you're worried, but I'm not afraid. I've stared death in the face; Slade doesn't scare me, or my sister: for us, there are only three things in this world that we fear. For Percy... it's losing Beast Boy; for me, it's Losing you; and for the both of us... it's having the supernatural family who sheltered all this time us fall apart at the seams."_

Her heart raced as she remembered being held firmly in the boy's grasp: the feeling of his warmth enveloping her amidst the desolate, frigid winter's eve; the warmth which had crept into Raven's heart but was quickly extinguished as more of her encounter with Patrokalos revealed itself in her recollection. She recalled trying to put the young boy's fears to rest; to assure him that she could take care of herself and that everything would be alright. In response, he'd pulled her closer, tightly clinging to her as though the sky itself would burn if they parted.

As boy lifted her head to Raven's shoulder, a shock went through her.

_"I know…"_

Raven could feel tears stinging her eyes as the memories came rushing back alongside a deluge of emotions: how, without warning, the boy had bore down on her and the once-affectionate enfold had quickly become an asphyxiating clasp. How she had flailed feverishly, squirming with all of her might to free herself from his clutches. How she had summoned her dark energy in an attempt to fend him off, battering him wantonly as she began to feel lightheaded and weak. The sound of his tearful lullaby echoing in her ears and lacing her mind with an abnormal urge to sleep.

Above all though, she remembered how—in her last moments of consciousness—fear permeated her every thought and sent a chill through her core; in that instant, as the environment faded to flack, she had looked up at Patrokalos, who had returned her gaze with tears streaming down his cheeks. Raven groaned once more as she swung her feet over the side of the dark tan couch, resting her elbows on her knees while burying her face in her hands.

She began to feel nauseous as she sat, hunched over; sharp pains twisting angrily in her stomach, evoking a pained expression. She remained doubled over, staring at the tan carpet beneath her feet, her mind replaying her encounter with Patty. So deep was her preoccupation with her thoughts that she didn't hear footsteps approach her from behind.

"Will! Come quick! She's coming around!" a sweet, airy female voice called out emphatically. Raven took her elbows from her knees and slowly pulled herself upright. She heard gentle footsteps from behind the couch, cautiously approaching her from the side. Raven turned her head slightly, catching a glimpse of the woman who stood by her, leaning forward on the arm of the couch.

"How are you feeling?" the petite woman asked, brushing her dirty blond hair from her face, "Are you alright?"

Raven didn't respond at first.

Though the bubbly blonde in front of her spoke in the sweetest and most docile of tones, each syllable reverberated rancorously in the Empath's ears; as though someone were slamming pots and pans together.

"I'm fine… I think…" Raven rasped evenly, her voice hoarse. She brought both of her hands to her face and began gently massaging her temples with her fingers, attempting to assuage her aching pate. "I have terrible headache, but other than that, I'm no worse for wear… who are you?"

"My name is Rebecca, and that's Will," the young blonde woman said sweetly, gesturing behind Raven—who turned and noticed a tall, thin man with sandy-blonde hair leaning against a wall. He straightened his posture and walked around the side of the dark tan couch, where he stood casually next to Rebecca. As Raven stared at the people before her, not knowing exactly what to think, waves of sorrow, worry, and regret began to radiate from them—filling the atmosphere with a thick, palpable tension and anxiety.

Raven could feel a lump forming in the back of her throat as the cacophonous emotions ran through her like a conduit, clamoring to be heard. She shook her head from side to side, trying to keep the overbearing sentiments at bay; when coupled with her splitting headache, the intruding emotions made it almost impossible for Raven to concentrate or ruminate.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Will asked seriously, concern pervading his tone. "You look like you're in pain."

"It's just a bad headache. I'll be fine," Raven replied evenly, trying to downplay her obvious discomfort.

Will and Rebecca looked at each other simultaneously, their expressions equally incredulous. They looked at the ailing sorceress before looking back at one another, nodding in solidarity. They didn't know Raven well, by any means. They did, however, know that—when she was frazzled or riled—she could be volatile; losing control over her immense abilities, thus laying siege to everything in her wake.

"I'm going to go rustle up something to help with your headache," Rebecca stated firmly, punctuating her words with several slight nods. She began to walk from the room as Raven spoke out.

"Is that really necessary...?" the empath inquired.

"Hmm… let me see… yeah!" Will replied, comically raising his voice while throwing his hands into the air. "In the last twenty four hours, I have been choked, manhandled, punched, attacked by robots, lifted to the ceiling, dropped to the floor, and flung aside like a sack of potatoes after being engulfed in a cocoon made of water! The last time you had that look on your face, you were in the spare bedroom—which currently looks like a de-militarized zone! I don't know if I can handle much more excitement today, honestly…"

Rebecca couldn't help but laugh as she walked out of the room to get medicine for the suffering sorceress, amused by Will's animated explanation. Raven stared at Will vacantly at first before realization crept into her expression. She brought her hand to her forehead, remembering how she had reacted when she had first laid eyes on the twins. A surge of penitence immediate gripped her; she felt badly about destroying the man's apartment, even if she hadn't intended to. Before she could apologize, however, Will broke the silence.

"This may not be any of my business… in fact, I'm pretty sure that it's not," Will sighed, shaking his head, 'but… what exactly happened up on the roof?"

"Patty and I just talked…" Raven rasped evenly, bringing her hands to her face and rubbing her eyes roughly with the heels of her palms. A maelstrom of emotions churned within the Empath, threatening to erode her from within. Will stood expressionless for a moment, looking down at Raven; even from where he stood he could sense her reluctance. Though she didn't show it outwardly—as her countenance remained devoid of emotion—inwardly, a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings swirled chaotically. Will took note and chose not to probe any further.

Instead, he chose to change the subject.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. Rebecca and I just didn't know what to think when he carried you in from the roof," Will replied apologetically, not wanting to upset or offend the Empath sitting before him.

Rebecca walked back into the room, carrying several small plastic bottles of pills.

"Yeah!" Rebecca added, walking behind the dark tan couch to the kitchen, "One minute the two of you are out on the roof, the next Patty is carrying you inside on his back. With how badly you were hurt, we were worried that you had taken a turn for the worse or something."

Rebecca handed Raven several pills and a large glass of water. Raven readily put the capsules in her mouth before washing them down with several large gulps of water. She held the glass in her hands, swishing the leftover water in the cup around in a circular motion.

"Patty and I were talking…" Raven said evenly, replaying the series of events in her mind. "Between the two of us, we were able to piece together Slade's plan… well, parts of Slade's plan. He told me that Slade had approached him and Percy while they were at the Jump City Medical Center"

"We were with them when it happened," Will added, listening intently to Raven. "Slade busted down the door and barged in. Then he backed the twins into a corner and got all touchy-feely with them, running his hands over their faces and through their hair. Really, he looked like a sick pedophile at first—but then he tried to get the twins to join him and they stood their ground."

Raven demurely imbibed the remainder of the water in the glass. She set the empty glass on a small wooden table next to the couch as Will and Rebecca looked at her eagerly, encouraging her to continue her recantation.

"Once we had figured out that Slade's attacks on the city to this point were merely diversions, Patty and I tried to figure out what his real intentions were," Raven continued, voice wavering slightly as she began choking up. "Slade is too smart to let his plans be openly known and he is careful not to give away too much. We realized we had no idea what he had planned or what he was aiming to accomplish. That's when Patty and Percy concocted a plan of their own."

Raven fell silent for a moment.

She closed her eyes tightly and gently massaged her temples with her hands, attempting to alleviate the throbbing in her head.

"What are they planning to do?" Will asked quizzically, his brow rutting in confusion.

Raven slouched forward slightly, her hands still rubbing her forehead in circular motions. She breathed in an out deeply as her stomach began tying itself into knots; though she was sitting motionlessly on the dark tan couch, the entire room felt like it was spinning. It was like being hooked to a centrifuge spinning wildly out of control. She swallowed hard, keeping her face ensconced in darkness before continuing.

"Patty told me that the only way to uncover Slade's plan was for him and Percy to act as though they were intent on accepting Slade's offer," Raven whispered unhappily. "I tried to convince Patty to let me call the other Titans, but he took my communicator away and told me he and Percy had to do this on their own. They're both adamant about facing Slade… I tried to talk him out of it… to assure him that everything would be okay. I thought everything was going to be alright… but…"

Raven paused for a minute and began to recall their embrace once more before remaining reticent, unable to continue. She rested her elbows on her knees and slouched forward, burying her face in her hands. She felt hollow inside; even though—in that moment—she wished she could simply weep, she found herself unable to shed a tear. Rebecca and Will stood quietly as the sorceress regained her bearings.

Though Raven didn't finish telling her tale, she didn't have to; they were able to fill in the blanks and understood what had taken place. The room became quiescent; everyone thought of what had occurred and what was to come. Raven yelped in pain as she slowly rose to her feet, clutching her abdomen. She took a few steps forward, her face a mosaic of pain; she gritted her teeth as the searing wound in her side reasserted itself with every movement.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Will shouted loudly as Raven continued stumbling forward. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"Listen…!" Raven asserted, brimstone rising in her voice as she spoke. "I know how much you've done for the Harmony Twins—you saved their lives, cared for them, and were there for them when they needed you! If that isn't enough, you have helped me, as well! I will never be able to repay either of you for what you did—but I won't just sit here and do nothing! My little sister and my boyfriend, our Guardian Angels, are out there facing Slade alone! I've already lost them once; I won't lose them again!"

Raven walked passed Will and Rebecca and began to shuffle toward the door. Every step she took was laborious; sharp pains shot through her side as she forged ahead.

"There is a fine line between heroic and stupid!" Will shouted as Raven neared the door, preparing to exit the apartment. "What exactly to you plan to do to Slade when you get to the bank, anyway? Bleed on them? You can barely move!"

The girl turned and faced Will and Rebecca. She glanced down at her bandaged abdomen; the gauze wrapped around her midsection was predominantly lily-white, except for a large reddish-pink mark adorning her stomach, slightly off to the right side. She lifted her eyes and glared at the man and woman coaxing her to stay put.

"I'll do whatever I can…" Raven said softly through clenched teeth. "My twins needs someone in their corner."

Will quickly darted toward the door, moving nimbly in front of the injured Empath. A look of consternation adorned his face; his expression was both steely and resolute. He straightened out his posture, drawing back his shoulders and chest.

"Look… this isn't a good idea. Deep down, I think you know that! I know that this seems like the only option you have, but it's not! I know that you think you can go it alone and save the Harmony Twins—but in your condition you have no chance!" Will protested, hesitating as he stared at Raven—whose face remained stoic and expressionless. Her eyes, however, spoke volumes: those violet irises remained asunder, practically boring holes into his flesh with their zealotry. Will hung his head for a moment, trying to formulate his argument; eloquence, however, eluded him. "This is the second time tonight that I've tried to stop someone from leaving. I thought I could convince the twins to stay put… but I was wrong. I'm just lucky they went easy on me. I'm only a regular guy, there's nothing altogether special about me—but I'm blocking your way regardless. Even with as badly wounded as you are, you could put me through a world of hurt. I'm no fighter, by any means, but still… the intention is there. If you want to leave, you'll have to go through me."

Raven stared blankly at the well-intentioned man before her.

Though he was clearly steadfast in his convictions, it was going to take much more than a few good Samaritans to keep her from the Jump City National Bank—and from her little sister, Percy, and her boyfriend, Patty. At the same time, however, she knew that they were right: she was weak and didn't even know if she would be stable enough to summon her dark energy. She was in pain; anguish rose within her and built upon itself—like a crescendo—sans relief or reprieve. Halfway between the door and the couch she stood, torn between the declarations of her mind and the desires of her heart.

**TXXXXXT**

Cyborg remained crouched in the hallway, just outside the entrance to the room where Raven's signal had originated.

His frustrations mounted as his patience wore thin; though he could hear muffled noises emanating from the room, he could not clearly discern what was being said, nor did he have visual confirmation on Raven or her captors. The warrior within him wanted nothing more than to bust down the door and barge in, sonic cannon at the ready; the tactician within him, however, persuaded him to stay put. He knew he couldn't afford to risk Raven's safety by blindly rushing in, but as the vocalizations from inside the room became more forceful and fierce, he found it increasingly difficult to hold fast.

His mind raced rampantly, running a myriad of worst-case scenarios through his mind; his hands began to quiver involuntarily as he ruminated, unable to quell his fears. Suddenly, his communicator quietly sounded, startling the high-strung cybernetic teen, causing him to recoil violently. He almost lost his balance, colliding abruptly with the adjoining wall, however he was able to maintain his equilibrium and remain upright.

He took a few deep breaths, in an attempt to soothe his frazzled nerves. Without hesitation, Cyborg answered the hail. Static flashed across the screen in his arm for a moment before the image cleared and came into focus, revealing Starfire, who floated in the celestial sky, the vestal stars surrounding her.

"What's going on, Star?" Cyborg whispered, bringing his arm closer to his face, "What do you see?"

"I believe that I see an opportunity," Starfire said, a ghost of a smile creeping across her countenance. "The other two individuals occupying the room along with Raven are all standing together in a living area. Perhaps this is the moment we have been waiting most patiently for."

"I just wish I had some idea of what is going on in there…" Cyborg grumbled under his breath.

After a moment of cogitation, Starfire, who was floating outside of the tenth-story kitchen window, flipped her communicator around, enabling Cyborg to see what she was seeing. Cyborg's brow furrowed as he took note of the scene unfolding within the apartment: a man stood near the door, his arms outstretched, obstructing Raven's path; a young woman stood next to a couch, hugging herself with a frightened expression. Though she was saying something, her words were incoherent; the window prevented the microphone in Starfire's communicator from picking up any form of sound from inside of the apartment. Raven stood in between the man and woman, trying to move toward the door.

A sigh of relief escaped the mechanical Titan as he laid eyes on Raven's form through the screen in his arm; it was as though a burdensome weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Though many of his initial fears were allayed almost instantaneously, Cyborg knew they were still far from safe. He examined every aspect of the video feed, from the objects within the apartment itself to the floor layout and design.

If he, Beast Boy, and Starfire were to successfully extract Raven, they would need precision; in order to reclaim their friend, they would need to take full advantage of the element of surprise. As he studied the footage, Cyborg noticed the large, blood-stained dressing wrapped tightly around Raven's midsection. His calculating mind, which had been formulating a plan of attack, immediately seized up; logic and reason were exiled to the back of his mind as rage and worry suffused his being. His lips curled in anger as he slowly got to his feet, keeping his back to the wall.

"To hell with this…" Cyborg muttered underneath his breath, anger burning within him like molten rock. He stole a glance at the screen in his arm once more, taking note of the apartment's physical features. In an instant—fueled by ire—he formulated a plan. "Listen up, Star, I'm done playing games and sneaking around. Raven's hurt. We need to act now. She is stuck between the man blocking her from the door and the woman standing next to the couch. I can handle the guy near the door, but do you think you could get to the woman before she tries anything cute?"

"I will be sure of it," Starfire replied firmly.

"Good…" Cyborg muttered, adrenaline pumping through his veins in anticipation of the conflict to ensue. "Alright… on the count of three…

"Yes," Starfire nodded.

"One…"

Cyborg stepped away from the wall, walking directly in front of the white, metal door leading into the apartment.

"Two…"

He took a deep breath and exhaled—as though he were releasing all of his worries and concerns unto the world—before bringing his right arm up to shoulder level. The metal plates on his arm began to shift, sliding and locking into place until his sonic cannon was clearly visible; an ominous blue glow radiating from the barrel.

"THREE!"

Cyborg kicked his right leg up before slamming his foot into the metal door with enough force to tear it from its hinges. The sound of startled screams and commotion filled the air, resonating sharply within the apartment. He hastily bolted into the room, keeping his head on a swivel as he moved into enemy territory. Though he was moving as quickly as his feet could carry him, time seemed to slow to a crawl. As he rushed into the room, he heard the acrimonious din of glass shattering and falling unceremoniously to the floor.

_Way to make an entrance, Star…_ Cyborg mused, an imperceptible grin washing across his face. As he turned his head, the living area came into his line of sight. He took note of the man standing in front of him. The man's back was facing him, his arms outstretched horizontally. Raven stood behind the man, facing him; she was slightly hunched over, favoring her right side, her complexion even paler than usual. Cyborg snuck up behind the unsuspecting captor, wrapping his left arm around the man's throat—gripping down virulently—as he brought the sonic cannon to his temple.

As Cyborg tightened his grip around the man's throat, he noticed Starfire fly in from his peripheral. She charged into the woman standing next to the couch, driving her painfully into the adjacent wall, putting a sizable hole in the drywall. After a moment of frenzied panic and tumult, the uproarious room became uncomfortably quiet: Starfire held the woman fast against the eggshell white wall; the woman, whose face was now bloodied and bruised, wriggled helplessly against the Tamaranian's clutches. Cyborg bore down on the man, who wheezed arduously, struggling mightily to breathe. Raven, however, stood motionlessly in the middle of the living room, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

Beast Boy came in a few moments later, shoulders tensed and muscles ready to spring.

"Cyborg…? Starfire…? Beasts Boy...?" Raven whimpered, still astounded by the split-second entrance made by her teammates, her expression an amalgamation of incredulity and confusion.

"Raven!" Cyborg shouted loudly, yanking Will's head back slightly as he spoke, "We're here for you!"

"Yes, friend! You are unharmed, correct?" Starfire asked in agreement, a look of concern on her face as she continued to press the petite blonde woman into the drywall roughly.

"We got your back, Rae," Beast Boy stated calmly. "These guys won't do anything else to you.

Raven remained frozen.

The astringent pain in her side continued to flare up; a searing twinge radiated ubiquitously throughout the affected area. Though her discomfort was immense, Raven remained stolid; her expression as calm and stoic as an uncharted sea. Yet it was not her condition which rendered her speechless, rather it was her current predicament: She glanced at Cyborg, who appeared both exhausted and perplexed as he stood choking the life out of Will with one hand while firmly pressing the barrel of his sonic cannon to the young man's head.

Will's eyes were wide in trepidation, his face contorted, permeated by fear.

His chest rose and fell rapidly, as though he were a baby rabbit pinned down by a ravenous predator. Raven's eyes then traveled to Starfire, who looked both anxious and weary. She held Rebecca against the wall mercilessly, gnashing the young nurse's bloodied face further into the wall; splotches of crimson marring the once-pristine, white walls. Cyborg's eyes perused the sorceress's face; immediately he could sense that something was amiss.

"Raven! What's going on? What's the matter?" Cyborg hollered, brusque timbre snapping the Empath from her daze. Upon hearing Cyborg's words, vitality immediately returned to Raven's listless gaze. She shook her head, literally shaking herself from her bewilderment.

"Cyborg, Starfire," Raven said calmly, her raspy voice sounding virtually phlegmatic, "please, let them go…"

"But, Raven…" Starfire objected mildly, "did they not hold you against your will?"

"C'mon, Raven! You can't expect us to let these guys go free!" Beast Boy wailed, visibly frustrated,

"I said… let… them… go…." Raven ordered vehemently, her tone slowly dwindling from curt and cantankerous to cool and composed.

Cyborg rutted his brow in confusion and glanced furtively at Starfire, who looked similarly puzzled by the girl's bizarre request. Cautiously, the bionic boy loosened his stranglehold around Will's neck and lowered his sonic cannon; Will fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air. Starfire reluctantly took her hands off of Rebecca, who slid down to the floor, cradling her battered face in her hands.

"Raven, what the hell is going on?" Cyborg asked, clearly befuddled and unnerved; he looked as though he was being pulled in several different directions all at once.

"It's a long story…" Raven rasped as she averted her eyes, suddenly taking interest in the carpet below.

"Please," Starfire said sweetly, feeling as though she was on the outside looking in, "Do tell us what is on your mind…we merely wish to understand."

Raven paused: she knew she had to tell them what had happened, and she knew they were bound to ask; after all, it was uncharacteristic of her to vanish without a trace. How, though, would she tell them of the Harmony Twins' survival? How would she even begin to explain the circumstances behind their inexplicable resurrection?

"We've been looking everywhere for you, Raven!" Cyborg spoke emphatically, persuading Raven to open up about what had happened, "Star, BB, and I have been worried sick. We even visited all of the hospitals you went to and asked around, but your trail went cold after the Jump City Medical Center. What happened?"

Raven swallowed hard: though she knew that telling Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire about all that had happened was the proper course of action, she couldn't stomach being the one who had to tear asunder their illusions and trample on their hearts. She glanced at Beast Boy in particular: she knew that he would be the most affected by what she was about to say, considering he'd been hit the hardest when they'd lost the twins.

Reluctantly, she began.

"I knew when I first arrived at the Jump City Medical Center that something… wasn't right," Raven croaked, pulling her hood up. "I was completely overwhelmed by negative emotions as I made my way to the entrance. Once inside, my suspicions were confirmed: there was no one at the front desk… or on the first floor, for that matter."

Cyborg and Starfire stood impassively, intently listening to Raven as she spoke. Will slowly began to lift himself from the floor, still coughing and wheezing violently, attempting to catch his breath. Rebecca remained slumped on the floor, groaning softly, covering her bloodied face with her hands, which were quaking violently.

"Things only got worse when I started canvassing the second floor," the empath continued. "The overbearing emotions were stronger… overpoweringly so. I had a difficult time thinking straight, much less forging ahead. It took me a moment to pull myself together, but when I did, I heard voices… frightened voices. I started moving toward them… and I came across a throng of people in a panic… it was absolute bedlam. I was told by one of the hospital staff that a group of masked men barged in and attacked a doctor… then they headed to the fifth floor."

"What were they looking for?" Beast Boy asked with a confused expression.

"Information," Raven replied cogently. "They were looking for something specific. I went up to the fifth floor to see for myself, but was attacked by Slade-bots. Fatigue and over-stimulation had taken their toll on me… and the Slade-bots were able to overwhelm me… they shot me and slammed me into a wall… then I blacked out. The next thing I remember was waking up in this apartment… while Will and Rebecca were cleaning and bandaging my wound…"

"Please, friend… I am confused…" Starfire began, her eyes teeming with ambiguity, unsure exactly what to think. "How is it that you arrived here from the hospital?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy added, his expression mirroring Starfire's, "and if they weren't holding you against your will, why didn't you at least tell us where you were?"

Raven fell silent, but her heart began to pound and her eyes widened; though she had been maintaining a placid demeanor, she began to feel flustered, browbeaten by her friend's questions; Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire stood silently, staring at her as she struggled to articulate her thoughts.

"You three might want to sit down for this next part…" Will suggested, pointing to the dark tan couch in the middle of the living room. He rubbed the back of his neck roughly as he looked down at Rebecca, who—from his perspective—looked as though she had sustained a concussion. Will bent down and lifted the petite blonde nurse into his arms before leaving the living room in favor of one of the bedrooms down the hall. Cyborg and Starfire exchanged an awkward glance before the three of them walked over to the couch and took a seat. They stared intently at Raven, who was still wrestling with herself over how exactly to break the news to her friends. She paced slowly back and forth, searching for the right words.

"Please, Raven," Starfire said felicitously, hoping to coax the girl into divulging what was troubling her, "Please, tell us."

"We're your friends," Beast Boy added reassuringly, shrugging his shoulders. "It doesn't matter what you tell us, we won't judge you or think any less of you…we'll love you all the same. We can handle it…"

Raven took one more deep breath and steadied herself. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat before stopping dead in her tracks and turning to face her quizzical friends; their faces alight with inquisitiveness.

"It's about… the Harmony Twins…" Raven choked out, voice coming barely above a whisper; she watched as both Cyborg and Starfire's expressions immediately faded, their playful curiosity replaced by somber contemplation. Beast Boy's jade green eyes immediately flashed and he looked away, mouth tightening as his face twisted. "They… they're both still alive…"


	38. Chapter 37: The Meaning of Family

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Meaning of Family**

Robin closed his eyes tightly as the frozen blade swung down forcefully, intent on ending his life.

Every muscle in his body seemed to tense at once, bracing for the impending blow that would most likely kill him. Robin winced and grit his teeth, expecting the razor-sharp ice shard to tear into his throat, but instead of feeling the pain of rapier-like ice lacerating his jugular, the sound of a thunderous metallic crack shattered the marble floor directly next to his head.

His blue eyes were squeezed shut and he was panting frantically, barely able to catch his breath.

Robin groaned in pain as Persephone kept her small hand planted in the center of his chest to keep him from squirming.

The pain—when coupled with the wounds on his back, shoulders, abdomen, and wrist—was unbearable… but even though he wanted to cry out, he bit the inside of his cheeks and dealt with his agony in silence. As he glared upward and the menacing angel came into focus, he realized that something was wrong: her shoulders were still shaking, but it wasn't coming from anger any longer. Her crystal blue eyes were dilated and her expression had gone blank… but she was staring at her own hand, the one that had been about to end his life. When Robin turned his head to the right—toward the sound of thunderous clattering—he realized that Persephone blade planted into the marble floor centimeters from his head.

His eyes snapped open wide with horror; the force of the impact had been great enough to crack the marble surface and bury the meter-long ice blade to the hilt. After a moment, Robin turned his gaze back to the blonde looming above him, looking deeply into her electric blue eyes; it was clear that she was severely shaken because of her facial expression.

Nearby, her brother was lying on the ground and staring at her with large blue eyes.

Persephone D'Andesyrius was still looming precariously above Robin and her left hand was still planted firmly on the Boy Wonder's chest, but now she could feel his heart pounding rapidly and his pain was seeping through her barriers; adrenaline and fear gripped the girl almost simultaneously, making her feel as though an electrical current was running through her body.

She stared blankly at Robin as her hands began to shake, large pupils contracting into pinpricks as her sense returned.

Robin, the leader of the Titans, was lying motionlessly on his back beneath her; moreover, the normally clean-cut and squared-away boy was in shambles. His hair was matted down, blood was smeared and splattered on his face, his uniform was tattered, and his eyes… she could see them. White blue and filled with such sheer terror that her heart felt utterly confused.

As Persephone looked down at her defeated leader, a jolt of shocked horror resounded strongly within her heart.

It was because of them that he was injured… she and her brother had nearly destroyed him.

With a jolt, the girl's grip over her powers slipped away and she reared back, clamping both hands to her mouth and staring down at Robin in horror as her eyes widened in fright: her entire body began to tremble as she stared at his eyes.

_I was going to do it,_ Persephone thought, shoulders trembling violently. _I was actually going to... kill him._

_You didn't, though,_ Patrokalos fervently stated, letting his head thump to his arms with a sigh. _You stopped yourself just in time..._

As Persephone stared at her leader's face with round, terrified eyes, her heart started pounding inside her chest and her stomach began cramping as though she'd swallowed shards of glass. Waves of fright and horror surged through her so strongly that she was practically falling apart at the seams: even though she had stopped herself from tearing into Robin's throat, Persephone hated herself in that moment—not because she hadn't ended Robin's life, but for _wanting_ to. She'd thought that she and Patrokalos had come to terms with what had happened. She'd told herself time and again that stopping Slade was the highest imperative.

She'd yearned for a normal life—a simple life; an opportunity to live free from danger and peril.

Most of all, though, her heart was yearning for Beast Boy: she was longing to lay wrapped up in his arms, to lose herself in his gaze, and to share herself unconditionally and unequivocally with him. The same went for Patrokalos: he was longing for Raven so badly that, even now, she could feel the waves of emotion rolling off of him like an ocean of feelings.

They had wanted to return home to Titans Tower.

Yet, the moment the two of them had entered the Jump City National Bank, it was as though an otherworldly force had swept over them—forsaking the desires of their individual hearts in favor of revenge. The twins had never planned on seeing Robin again after initially saying goodbye to him, aside from pursuing their relationships with Beast Boy and Raven, so the two of them had been extremely ill-equipped to deal with their residual rage. When the two of them spotted Robin from the rooftops, both Persephone and Patrokalos had begun to feel uneasy; their hearts had begun to pound maniacally and their minds—which had been focused entirely on uncovering Slade's nefarious scheme—had become clouded with anxiety.

When they'd stepped into the bank, their inner-turmoil had become more pronounced and evident… and when they'd listened in on Robin's conversation with Slade, their disposition had spiraled out of control; retrogressing from bitterness to an all-consuming fury that had opened the door to the Angel of Wrath residing deep inside their joined mind. Before either one of them could reign in their emotions, the Dark Angel had zeroed in on Robin and had savagely attacked him; yet this time it had been different, since they hadn't lost complete consciousness.

It was merely as though they'd had a lot of tunnel vision.

The Harmony Twins had dealt blow after blow to the Boy Wonder, battering him mercilessly.

Even though Robin's horrified gaze shook Persephone to her very core, what truly sickened the angel was that, not only had she lost control and fought with Robin, she had enjoyed it: she had reveled in every strike and savored every assault. She and her brother had beaten Robin thoroughly: they had slashed him with their powers and bludgeoned him with their brute strength until she'd ended up here, pinning him to the floor and glaring as he stared death right in the face.

In that moment, however, something had stopped her; something deep within the purity of Persephone's soul had halted her from enacting this form of revenge and making shipwreck of the soul she and Patty shared. In a moment of enraged, godly passion, when she'd stood at the precipice of iniquity, some outside force had prevented her from doing the unthinkable.

_"You are my Legacy,"_ a ghostly voice whispered. _"Never forget that."_

Persephone's breath hitched and she instantly crawled backward, sliding off of Robin's stomach with shaking movements and scuttling towards her brother. Her face had gone dead white and she kept backing away until her brother clamped his arms around her waist, preventing her from moving any further: the boy stood up slowly, wincing in pain as he pulled his sister to her feet. The boy glanced down at Robin and bit his lip—who in turn looked at the twins in relief, wondering why he'd been spared; a hush descended over the room as the three teens exchanged glances, unsure of how to move forward.

"Persephone! I said… FINISH HIM!" Slade snapped violently, pounding his clenched fist into his palm as he stepped away from the vault, taking a few prudent steps toward Robin and the Harmony Twins.

"I can't!" Percy squeaked back angrily, quickly whirling around and taking a few steps toward the masked criminal; Patty gripped her hand and jerked her backwards, forcing the small girl to maintain a safe distance. "I just can't do it! I can't, I can't, I can't!"

"More importantly, though—she _won't,"_ Patrokalos added calmly. "We're not murderers."

Slade stared indignantly at the twins standing before him.

Persephone was gravely wounded: her shoulder—which had been blown open by Robin's explosive disks—continued to stain her blazer, and the stab-wounds in both of the twins' stomachs had turned the entire front of their borrowed beige school blazers into blood-soaked messes. Crimson drops began to collect on the marble floor where the twins were standing: Percy leaned on her brother's arm, attempting to place as little pressure on her broken ribs as possible despite her determination.

"You owe him nothing!" Slade roared, his booming voice filling the Grand Hall. "Is it morality that compels the two of you to spare his life…? Or is it cowardice? Are the two of you cowards?"

"Call us whatever you want," Persephone sighed, gentle tone unwavering. "It was stupid of us to ever entertain the thought of getting revenge on Robin, but we were still so angry that it consumed us. It took over our consciousness to the point where we could think of nothing else, and the rage drove us into the darkness instead of the light. It drove us straight to you, Slade."

"It was a moment of weakness—an error in judgment," Patrokalos finished coldly. "We may be a lot of things—but we are _nothing_ like you. We are not murderers; we never will be: what Robin did to us was unforgivable—and while I can't speak for Percy, I don't know if I'll ever completely get over it… but if we kill him out of anger for some warped sense of justice, we'll be no better than you are right now. If that makes us cowards, so be it—but that way of thinking would also make you one."

Slade folded his hands behind his back as he shook his head from side to side: a sinister, low chortle began to rasp from the back of his throat and his eye brimmed with heinous intensity as he stared at the twins, contemplating his next move.

"I offered you many opportunities, yet you idiotic gods think we mortals are the weak ones," Slade sneered. "I gave you so many chances to change the world, so many chances to rectify the misdeeds of mankind and usher in a new order. Instead, you choose to defy me, time and time again. Do you honestly believe that you can trust Robin? That you can simply go back to the way things were? Do you honestly think that you are both impervious to death or that you are, in fact, two immortal beings?"

"No, on both accounts…" Persephone solemnly replied, shaking her head. "Trust takes time to build, but it takes only a few moments to destroy. Before he left us behind, Patty and I trusted Robin completely: he was our leader, our teammate, our friend… and our big brother. We loved him just as much as everyone else in our family, but now, that trust is gone forever."

"Things may never be as they were, but even so, we're tired of fighting," Patty sighed. "We just want a normal life!"

"You _still_ refuse to serve as my apprentices?" Slade demanded when the boy and girl were standing directly in front of him.

"Yes," the twins retorted simultaneously, scowling up at him at the same time. "We are nobody's slaves."

"That's a shame… you would have been powerful allies," Slade roared, his ire coming to a boil; in a swift and rapid movement, the madman swung his right arm from behind his back and whipped out a plasma pistol.

The masked villain pointed the barrel at the Persephone… and fired, twice.

Persephone's eyes widened as she and her brother stumbled backward a few steps. The twins stared at Slade—who faced them with a cold expression, now holding the plasma blaster at his side—in total disbelief; then they looked down and pressed their hands to their abdomens; Percy removed her hand and saw that that it was covered in blood; the same went for Patty.

Slade's shots had hit both of them in their bellies.

Percy's muscles began to quiver and she began to feel weak; she could feel blood running from the wound and trickling down her leg. The small girl slowly fell to her knees, long blonde hair swirling around her body as she stared ahead in vacant shock; Patrokalos weakly sank down to his own knees, clutching his stomach and staring at the ground as he tried to figure out why his entire body had gone numb in such a nauseating way. The world tilted sickeningly as the twins began to fall, long hair swirling around their bodies before they landed heavily and came to a rest on the ground lying side-by-side. Their hair fell over their faces and upper torsos like blankets as the two of them lay on the cold marble surface.

"Percy," Patrokalos whispered, hand twitching out and gripping his sister's when she met his gaze, "don't..."

As he spoke, Slade brought his weapon up once more and carefully took aim at the blonde girl.

Persephone lay motionlessly on the floor for a few moments as she and her brother let their powers fuse, but then she glanced up through her hair and saw Slade standing in front of the vault with his plasma blaster at the ready. Mustering what little strength she had left, the fragile blonde girl attempted to get to her feet; she struggled, however, to do so.

She managed to prop herself up with her arms, which trembled under her body weight, but when she tried to get her feet underneath herself she fell roughly to the floor. A myriad of thoughts began cycling through the girl's mind as she stared helplessly at the barrel of Slade's plasma blaster. She thought of William and Rebecca, whose unfettered devotion to her and Patrokalos had served as beacons of hope during their recovery. She thought of Starfire, whose indomitably upbeat attitude and childlike enthusiasm had allowed them to see the lighter side of life even in the darkest of times. She thought of Raven, and how the girl had become close enough to them to change her preference of tea based on their personal opinions. She thought of Cyborg and all the silly squabbles that he and her brother used to have. Most of all, though, she thought of Beast Boy, whose rusty sense of humor and loyal friendship had brought meaning to an otherwise lonely existence.

He was her reason to wake up each morning; he was her strength and courage.

He was the one who made her heart bloom with life.

Persephone took a deep breath and squeezed Patty's shaking hand, preparing for Slade to take his shot.

All of a sudden, something slid past the twins, coming to a stop only a foot in front of Slade. The girl stared opened her eyes at the sound and stared at the object for a moment: two red lights blinked before stopping abruptly and Patty's eyes shot open wide. With a shaking body, he rolled over and covered Persephone with his body: a flash of blue light exploded out of his bleeding back and his materializing wings slowly enfolded around the two of them only a few seconds before it exploded.

A cloud of smoke rose into the air as small pieces of rubble began to rain down from above: dust was kicked up into the air, severely hindering their visibility. As Patrokalos slowly looked over his shoulder and sighed heavily in relief, he jumped when he felt a large arm wrap around his waist, pulling him up from the floor; another arm was wrapped around Persephone and she, too, was pulled upright. The twins rubbed the dust and debris from their eyes before they turned their heads, looking through their long blonde hair to catch a glimpse of their savior.

It was Robin.

When the twins managed to get their feet underneath their bodies, they were able—with Robin's help—to scurry across the floor toward the marble service desk. The wounded teenagers approached pulled themselves up and over, taking cover on the opposite side. The dense smoke and dust prevented Slade—who began blindly firing his blaster into the darkened Hall—from pinpointing their location. After about a minute, the incessant blaring of Slade's blaster petered out and silence descended upon the Jump City National Bank; the only audible noise was the sound of his footsteps as he paced in front of the vault.

He was patiently waiting for them to re-emerge.

After taking refuge behind the customer service counter, Persephone tried to choke back her mounting pain but was unable to and her face contorted: the girl clamped a hand over the puncture wounds in her abdomen, which continued to bleed profusely, before she looked at her brother's stomach and whined; the girl took a few steps toward him before she flopped down on the floor, leaning against his back to keep himself upright. Persephone, Patrokalos, and Robin remained hidden; though none of them spoke, they all exchanged inquisitive glances… each questioning the motives of the other.

Robin was staring at the twins with a mixture of curiosity and confusion: he couldn't understand what had possessed the two of them to spare his life, and he was wondering what had prevented Persephone from finishing him off. The girl had looked completely terrified back there. However, even though the twins were fully aware that killing Robin would solve nothing, they didn't trust the Boy Wonder. They were wondering what had driven him to pull them from Slade's line of fire.

What had made this situation different from the night on the Jump City Bridge?

Patrokalos winced as he put pressure on the blaster wound to his abdomen, tilting his head back against Percy's and squeezing his eyes shut with a fierce grimace of agony. The girl shuddered and did the same, breathing harshly with tight lips and clenched teeth: a searing sensation was spreading through the affected areas, and it felt as though their insides were on fire.

"Percy, Patty…" Robin stammered softly, "let me take a look… at your… wounds…"

"We're… fine…" Patrokalos hissed out, eyes still squeezed shut.

"No, you're not…" Robin persisted, trying to coax the angels. "You're losing a lot of blood and—"

"Since when do you care?" Persephone asked bluntly, not bothering to open her eyes.

Robin winced: the twins were sitting with their backs against each other for support, blonde hair disarrayed messes and school clothes utterly soaked with blood. He took note of the their dire state and winced a second time; if the blaster wounds to their stomachs hadn't been serious enough, the wounds to their shoulders, chests, upper abdomens, and ribs were grave enough to warrant hospitalization. Robin glanced down at himself; though he was covered in his own blood, which oozed freely from the various gashes on his body, he felt very little pain. He felt physically weak and massively fatigued, but the mind-numbing ache that accompanied such devastating injuries had eluded him.

Robin didn't know whether it was adrenaline or the lingering effects of the Cathine which staved off his agony.

"Guys, please…" Robin began softly. "There are… greater forces at work here. Bigger than you and I…"

"We don't have to listen to this, Robin," Patrokalos hissed, shaking his head. "Just because you swooped in to save us this time doesn't mean that anything's changed between us."

"Will you at least hear me out?" Robin asked pleadingly, voice practically warbling as he spoke.

"No…" Persephone sighed evenly. "There's nothing left to talk about and there's nothing more to say. We were family once, Robin—and while that time has passed, there's no reason for us to be at each other's throats. We should all just go our separate ways: you can live your life and we can live ours."

"You don't understand," Robin protested.

"Just drop it!" Patrokalos whispered harshly, blue eyes flashing gold. "We don't have to listen to you anymore! Don't you get it, Robin? You aren't our friend any longer. So we don't have to be good little children and follow daddy's orders all the time like the rest of our friends! We don't trust you anymore, so shut up and let us concentrate so we can heal ourselves!"

A hush swept over the three for a moment, allowing awkward tension to wheedle its way in. Percy's head began to slump forward slightly, as though she were nodding off; Patty's eyes became unfocused before sharpening again, and he grit his teeth as he tried to focus on his powers. Percy quickly snapped her head back and brought one of her blood soaked hands to her face; she rubbed her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, being careful not to smear any blood into her eyes. Robin grunted softly as he repositioned himself, scooting closer to the twins.

His mind remained seemingly entranced by the effort to allay their qualms.

"What do I have to do to make you guys trust me?" Robin asked, entreating the twins to hear him out.

Again, silence prevailed between the teenagers, but the twins finally looked at Robin in dismay: the Boy Wonder wanted to atone—in some small way—for his misgivings. Even though the accident had threatened to claim their lives, it had given them the opportunity to become reacquainted with themselves: the twins possessed greater self-awareness and actualization now than ever before, and their bond with each other had been further strengthened. Yet, there was one burning question which remained at the forefront of their minds; a question which had been gnawing at them since the night of the accident.

"There is only one thing we truly need to know, Robin," Persephone said, voice cracking as she began to cry. "Why?"

"The night on the bridge, you knew how badly the two of us were hurt…" Patrokalos explained as his own angry eyes began to water, "so why did you leave us there? Why did you abandon us when you knew how badly we were hurt?"

Robin sighed heavily and averted his eyes to the floor, struggling to come to grips with their unsettling query.

In retrospect, Robin didn't quite understand his actions, which had somehow seemed logical at the time. He knew, however, that a simple 'I don't know' or 'I'm not sure' wouldn't suffice. Robin ran his fingers across his forehead, whisking away beads of sweat which had collected at his brow. He took a moment to compose himself—and formulate a response—before raising his eyes to meet their tearful sapphire gazes.

"I was… I… was… afraid…" Robin stated, carefully choosing his words, hoping to articulate himself accurately. "When I approached the pile of debris as Cyborg was digging you out… seeing you lying there like that… I… just didn't know what to do. It was like someone had taken the life out of me… time stood still… and all of my fears crept up on me at once. I feared for the city's safety, and I was afraid of what Slade would do if unopposed. I feared for the reputation of the Titans in general and myself specifically… and I was afraid of losing the two of you."

"If you were so afraid of losing us, why did you leave us behind?" Percy whined as tears streamed down her face. "It doesn't make sense…"

Robin seized up for a moment, as though all of his breath was squeezed from his lungs: he stared at the crying blondes with a blank expression for a moment, watching how they trembled with the pain of her injuries and something much deeper… something that shone in their eyes.

Despite their obvious discomfort, the twins returned his gaze firmly.

"We're not… ordinary civilians, guys… we're superheroes," Robin sighed, looking away from them. "That being said, we are used to the dangers of heroism and are cognizant of the consequences of our actions. In the heat of the moment, I could only think of the safety of the city. I thought of all of the destruction Cinder Block would cause if left unchecked. I thought of the countless innocent lives that would have been in danger. I thought of finally stopping Slade and how much better off the city—and by extension—the world would have been because of it. In your hour of need, I abandoned the two of you… I betrayed you both, and I was wrong for leaving you behind. I should have stopped the mission immediately and tended to you. I've spent countless days and hours wishing that I had done things differently… but I can't change the past, and I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for abandoning you, the little brother and sister of the team, when you guys needed me the most."

The twins straightened up and shared a knowing look, eyes flaring with yellow light.

Even though an apology could never alter the irrevocable or efface the indelible, it was an olive branch nonetheless. Robin had been honest; he hadn't attempted to justify his actions or downplay the gravity of his mistake. The Boy Wonder looked them dead in the eyes and spoke from the heart, which—by all accounts—was a rarity; in most cases, he internalized his emotions.

"You're not entirely to blame," Percy choked out as a giddy smile washed across her countenance. "Patty and I were so enraged that when we saw you, we immediately saw red. We came here to stop Slade, and instead he sidetracked us into fighting you."

"He tricked us all, Percy; he tried to twist my arm, too," Robin replied consolingly. "He approached me at the Jump City Fuel Company and told me he could help me cover my tracks… to hide the ugly truth of what I did to you. I decided to turn him down and come clean, and that's why I came here tonight. When I refused his offer, he brought you in to do his dirty work."

"I'm sick of Slade," Patrokalos hissed, hair fanning out with static. "I'm sick of being afraid."

All three teenagers teens shook their heads in disgust, ashamed of their actions: despite their good intentions, they had all played right into Slade's hands. It was as though he'd known them better than they knew themselves; he'd known exactly which buttons to push and strings to pull in order to achieve his desired outcome.

"The real question," Persephone sighed, thinking out loud, "is how we get out of here. He's got us pinned down… so, most likely, he's out there right now waiting for us to make a move."

"We can't just slip away, guys…" Robin sighed, rubbing his eyes roughly when he realized the severity of the situation.

"Why not?" Patty snapped, squeezing his sister's hand when she flinched. "Look at us! We're beat to hell and Slade doesn't have a scratch on him! We want to stop him just as badly as you do, Robin—but right now, we're no match for him!"

"We're going to have to be," Robin replied grimly.

"Eh?" Percy whispered, blue eyes going blank as she tried to find the meaning behind Robin's cryptic responses. The Boy Wonder's head and shoulders slumped forward slightly as he stared at the marble floor; it was evident that something was bothering the masked teen.

"What aren't you telling us, Robin?" Patty asked, consternation pervading his tone. "What do you know that we don't?"

"Slade…" Robin reluctantly explained. "He's… really outdone himself this time. Last night, he launched a multi-pronged attack against Jump City. In order to stop Slade, I split the team up and we each protected a specific location. We were mostly successful… although I was unable to save the Fuel Company and Raven went missing. We thought we had stopped him…but we were wrong…"

"Go on…" Percy insisted, gesturing for Robin to continue.

"Before you arrived tonight, Slade… let his plan slip. It's big—bigger than anything he's ever tried before," Robin vacillated for a moment, unable—at first—to bring himself to speak of Slade's nefarious scheme. "He used last night's attacks as a diversion. After blowing up the Fuel Company, he knew all of the city's emergency personnel would be trying to restore natural gas to the city as quickly as possible. He used that as a distraction so he could plant canisters of neurotoxin throughout the city. He has enough Sarin gas to kill everyone and everything within a thirty mile radius… and he has it rigged to a detonator…"

"What?!" the twins gasped simultaneously, eyes widening in horror when they heard the sordid details of the masked madman's scheme; their hearts plummeted through the floor at the same time and they shared a frightened look as fear gripped their stomachs. Robin was right: they couldn't simply leave and come back at full strength or with reinforcements.

"So… what's your plan?" Persephone asked in a small voice. "We're so exhausted that we can't use our powers over gravity, time, earth, fire, air, or light! The only forms of power we could possibly use in this state are the elements of water, electricity, and song! That's it! Right now, we can barely even heal ourselves without draining our bodies even further!"

"Well, we need to keep Slade busy…" Robin suggested, shaking his head at the sound of his own plan's absurdity. "We have to make sure he doesn't trigger the Sarin gas. We need to hold him off, at least until Cyborg, Beast Boy, or Starfire can get here. However, they all went out looking for Raven…"

"Oh, hee-hee…" Percy giggled halfheartedly, shaking her head.

Robin shot the girl a befuddled look, not quite comprehending what was so amusing.

"Raven's in a loft across town," Patrokalos sheepishly explained. "After the accident on the bridge, Percy and I were taken to the Jump City Medical Center. Last night, Slade came there looking for us, but Raven showed up and got injured. William and Rebecca—the nurses who took care of us in the hospital—helped us take her to an apartment on the other side of town, so even if Star, BB, and Cy came directly here from the loft, it would take a while. We'd have to pursue some course of action."

Robin buried his face in his hands for a moment, rubbing his forehead roughly: he began to feel weary and lightheaded since he'd lost a large amount of blood and was beginning to feel the aftereffects, but as he opened his eyes and stared at the beautiful twins, he couldn't help but smile nervously; the three of them were all that stood between Slade and innocent lives.

"Looks like it's just us," Persephone quipped, looking at her brother when Robin receded into himself, contemplating their next move. He knew that he and Angel were in no condition to confront Slade; they were both battered and mangled, bleeding profusely and writhing in agony. Worse yet, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire were miles away and in no position to offer immediate assistance.

Which meant that, in order to stop Slade, Robin and the Harmony Twins would have to fight.

"You got a plan?" Patrokalos asked.

"I'm open to suggestions…" Robin replied, shrugging his shoulders in quasi-defeat; the twins close their eyes and began breathing slowly and rhythmically: even though they were in absolute agony, they pushed their physical pain to the back of their joined mind. Then they both reflected on everything that they'd been through, as well as what now needed to be done.

_Slade has the whole city at his mercy,_ Percy silently told her brother. _He brought us here just to watch us tear Robin apart, to prove—that in some, small way—we are the same as he is._

_He knows that we aren't in any condition to fight, too,_ Patty agreed, keeping his eyes closed, _but if we don't at least try to stop him… thousands upon thousands of people will suffer because of it. We have to do something _.

The twins finally lifted her fierce golden eyes to meet Robin's and took in a deep breath

"_Cover us, and we'll take care of the rest_," Patty and Percy stated simultaneously, blue eyes flaring to a fiery yellow.

"That's not a plan, that's suicide!" Robin exclaimed, shaking his head in disapproval. "Look at yourselves! There's no way that either one of you would be able to get close enough to him to get the detonator away!"

Patrokalos wrapped his arm around Persephone's midsection and slowly rose to his feet with her, growling like a wildcat as he straightened himself out. The boy then looked down at Robin, who also struggled to get to his feet, but his knees nearly buckled under his own weight as he stood up on wobbling legs; it was clear that he'd lost too much blood to fight with Slade.

The twins put a hand on one of the Boy Wonder's shoulders as an identical grin swept across their mouths.

"There's no way we should even be alive right now, Robin," Persephone replied, icy tone sounding formidable as her eyes started glowing even brighter. "We've overcome so many obstacles and lived to tell the tale—"

"—so watch out backs, and when you see your opportunity… take it," Patrokalos finished, blinking as the light in his eyes flashed to a blinding multicolored white. "We're going to end this terrible fight once and for all. It needs to end."

"What are you going to do?" Robin asked questioningly, steadying himself by holding onto the counter.

"_I'm_ going to make sure that Slade pays for everything he's ever done," Persephone stated coldly.

"_I'm_ going to make sure that all of the people who suffered at his hands are avenged," Patrokalos icily replied.

"And _together,"_ the twins stated simultaneously, long hair billowing out around their frames, "we're going to _end_ this."

And with that, the twins flung their arms out to the side and drew in a deep breath as a brilliant blue glow engulfed their forms: it swirled around them with sparkling intensity and began healing their wounds, whirling around their forms and generating an air current that brushed the Boy Wonder's face. Robin watched with startled blue eyes as their flesh wounds began to heal, closing up with glittering sparkles that winked out of existence; when almost all of the gravest injuries were healed to a safer degree, the twins doubled over and stretched their hands out to him.

Robin jumped and let out a startled gasp as the glow engulfed him, feeling as though his breath were being stolen by the ice that surged throughout his veins: even as he watched, his deepest wounds closed up and the burns on his back began to heal at a rapid pace that left his skin itching like crazy. Then the light vanished, and he was left feeling much more energized.

"We healed you," Persephone stated, looking him in the eyes with a tired countenance. "Good luck."

Before the black-haired boy could reply, the twins clasped their hands together and sang a few musical notes in harmony before flinging their free arms out: electrically charged water exploded from the base of their wrists, forming into frozen lightning blades. The twins then leapt onto the marble customer service counter and vaulted from it, leaping down to the floor below and sprinting rapidly across the Grand Hall: the sound of Slade's blaster—which had fallen silent—instantly echoed through the large domicile as the masked criminal took aim at the twins who were charging across the floor.

"Don't stop for anything," Patrokalos hissed, fangs glinting in the moonlight. "Don't give him the chance to shoot us."

"Wasn't planning on it," Persephone whispered back, long hair flying behind her like a rippling golden cloud. The twins ran as quickly as their feet could carry them: shots from Slade's blaster narrowly missed the nimble-footed blondes, falling just short of their intended targets. However, when the girl and boy made it to the center of the room, they deftly cut toward the vault where Slade remained—blaster in hand—firing away.

The Harmony Twins charged at Slade, deflecting his bullets with their swords using lightning-fast movements when he continued to lay down a steady line of fire. With great skill and legerity, the two angels continued to dodge and deflect his wayward shots using each other as a focal point for power; it was evident that the masked sociopath was growing frustrated and fearful of their charge. As the twins closed in, Slade reached down to his belt and pulled a small, black device from it; the twins gasped and felt a surge of power flood through them.

Emotion stimulated their power: they were full of terror.

It was enough to call upon more of their abilities.

Time seemed to slow to a near halt as the twins bent forward and sent electricity surging to their feet: they immediately sped up to the point where a trail of bright blue sparks were left in their wake. The twins sped forward using their super speed, but even though they were charging Slade at a high rate of speed, the world seemed to stop. Everything became silent except for the sound of their echoing, clacking footsteps on the marble floor; they were within mere feet of the notorious criminal, who glared at them and steadied his blaster before taking aim at the twins who were charging toward him. Percy's heart jumped into her throat as Slade sighted down the shaft of his blaster at her, preparing to shoot them at point-blank range.

The girl's muscles involuntarily tensed up as she and her brother ignored their instincts and continued to charge at Slade, expecting to feel another shot from the masked criminal's blaster tear through her body. Instead, an airborne object collided with Slade's right hand, knocking the blaster from his grasp. Patrokalos instantly let out a silent laugh of approval, glowing eyes flashing with triumph.

_Nice shot, Robin…_ Persephone thought, grateful that the Boy Wonder had seen his window of opportunity; when the twins let their swords dissolve and put on a huge burst of speed, Slade's eye widened in horror; he had no more time to react to their vicious attack. Persephone and Patrokalos both lowered their heads and threw their free arms forward, slamming their electrically-charged fists into Slade's stomach with the force of a football player. The momentous impact sent the man flying and caused him to lose his hold on the detonator, which clattered to the ground; Slade careened through the air, landing roughly inside of the vault before somersaulting head over heels and rolling to a stop near the rear wall of the vault. The madman lay on the floor where he'd fallen, gasping for air and dazed by the vicious blow delivered to his gut.

"Wow, guys!" Robin shouted as he slowly climbed over the marble counter. "You really let him have it! Nice work!"

Patrokalos slowly reached down and gingerly picking up the detonator lying right in front of his feet: he held the small, black device in his large hands, examining it carefully and cautiously. It seemed odd to him that such a seemingly innocent-looking contraption could cause unparalleled destruction. The boy slowly turned to face Robin, who was approaching: the Boy Wonder was moving delicately since he didn't want to risk furthering any injury to his battered body.

"Got it…" Patrokalos murmured, holding the detonator triumphantly in his hand: his arms trembled as he handed the detonator to Robin, who secured it within one of the compartments in his utility belt.

"What now?" Persephone asked, staring at Robin as he peered into the vault, watching as Slade arduously pulled himself from the floor. The masked criminal panted heavily, trying to catch his breath after absorbing the bone-jarring blow from the angelic blondes who'd tackled him: in a matter of moments, Slade had collected himself; he rose from his stomach to his hands and knees before slowly getting to his feet, straightening out his posture with some difficulty.

"We have to be alert," Robin replied as he stared down his nemesis.

"But we have his detonator!" Percy squeaked weakly, glancing at Robin in confusion. "What can he do without it?"

Robin peeled his eyes from Slade and looked at the twins: he couldn't help but feel as though they were far from safe.

"We have to assume that he has a backup plan," Robin muttered meekly; he felt lightheaded and feeble; he had lost a lot of blood and he was feeling the lingering effects. "We can't risk… letting him... get away. If he does… he could… trigger the gas… from a different… location…"

Patrokalos and Persephone looked at Robin before turning their attention to Slade, who slowly began to trudge from the inside of the vault toward the Hall. Slade stared at them both; though the masked madman appeared composed, he was stewing in discontent.

"So, we can't let him leave the bank…?" Patrokalos asked weakly.

"That's right…" Robin choked out. "Look… everything we have ever worked for is riding on this. Slade needs to be stopped, and I can't do it alone. I can't fight him by myself… not like this. Jump City needs you… _I_ need you."

"We're already here," Persephone whispered, keeping her blue eyes on Slade as he began to approach.

"I wouldn't have it any other way…" Robin replied with a ghost of a grin on his face, feeling the gratitude brimming from within and spilling over.

Slade moved methodically from the entrance to the vault, stepping into the Great Hall and heading toward the wounded girl and boys: he eyed the bleeding teenagers as he approached, sizing up their healed injuries. Robin stood defensively, his arms outstretched in front of him, preparing to repel any attempted attacks. The twins stood on either side of him, like two sentinels protecting something precious. The twins appeared statuesque in the moonlight, blood-stained blonde hair and glowing golden eyes burning like hellfire as they stood completely undaunted and unflinchingly next to the Boy Wonder. Their wounds were already less prominent than before thanks to their god powers.

"Well, isn't this precious?" Slade snickered wickedly, walking within feet of Robin and the Harmony Twins and folding his hands demurely as he stood in front of them with a menacing eye. "Friends who are at war with one another… setting aside their differences to take down the bad guy. How very cliché. I hope you realize I have no intention of going quietly."

"Who said we were going to take you in?" Robin snapped back, his timbre filling with feral ire.

"Please, Robin…" Slade sneered, eye narrowing with a sinister mirth. "You do not have what it takes to take a life, not even mine. You are not strong-willed enough to do what is necessary. You never have been: you have always known what it was going to take for you to stop me—to put an end to my plans once and for all. Yet—time and again—you have shown clemency when you should have been merciless… that is why you cannot defeat me, Robin: you are not a killer."

Robin's eyes narrowed as he glared at Slade.

Even though he tried not to let the masked criminal's words irk him, it was clear that they'd cut him to the core. Had he not been so forgiving—had he been more ruthless—Slade's plan could have been easily thwarted. Instead, the very moral and ethical code he used to justify heroism allowed Slade—a blight onto mankind—to continue plotting and scheming.

"As for you…" Slade continued, turning his gaze to the twins. "You two are nothing but fools with lots of power. You are no better than your sister, Terra. Have you learned nothing? Robin left you to die, yet you choose to stand by him and fight against me. What compels you to help the very person who deceived you? The very one who betrayed your trust?"

"You wouldn't understand," Persephone stated icily, placing her hand on Robin's arm. "Robin betrayed us, it's true—and we are royally pissed about it. We wanted to kill him, but in the end we couldn't do it. You think you can manipulate Patty and I using what he did to us as the reigns, but you're wrong: you simply don't understand what it means to be a family."

"People make mistakes along the journey of life," Patrokalos stated frigidly, planting his hand on Robin's other arm and holding his head up high. "Big ones, too—mistakes that can end other lives. However, even if a brother betrays his sibling's trust, they'll stick together because they're family. You don't know this because the only thing you value is destruction."

"We love Robin," the twins stated simultaneously.

"And I love them," the boy wonder hissed out, blue eyes flashing in a surreal way as he glared without his mask.

A precarious stillness settled over the Great Hall as the three teenagers locked arms and glared at Slade.

Similarly, Slade stared back at the black-haired boy and the blonde-haired twins—his steely gray eye darting back and forth between them as he planned his next move. It was as though the Jump City National Bank was a powder keg. A single spark would undoubtedly set off a vicious—and invariably devastating—mêlée.


	39. Chapter 38: Persephone's Decision

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Persephone's Decision**

Slade slowly reached to his belt and pulled out a collapsible bo-staff.

Methodically, he folded the cylindrical weapon open while glaring at the Twins and Robin, who prepared for him to make the first move. Hush descended upon the Great Hall as Slade held his staff at his side, keeping it close to his body. Without further provocation, Slade took a deep breath and charged: he bolted toward Robin with great speed, bringing his staff forward offensively, preparing to deal the first definitive blows.

Quickly taking note of Slade's advance, Robin sprang forward as quickly as he could.

As he got within striking distance, the Boy Wonder leapt into the air, kicking impetuously at his masked assailant. Slade, however, adroitly countered Robin's forceful strikes, skillfully blocking the onslaught; then he took a few defensive steps backward. When Robin landed, the masked madman quickly crouched down and swept the teen's legs from underneath him.

The Boy Wonder stumbled and fell, landing roughly on his injured back; he grunted as his face twisted up in pain. Slade quickly got to his feet and raised his staff over his head, preparing to deliver a crushing blow to the boy's weapon. Before he could bring his weapon crashing down, however, the twins tackled Slade at top speed—sending the masked villain tumbling roughly to the marble floor. The blondes quickly used each other to flip into the air and both of them landed next to Robin with expressionless faces: Patrokalos lowered his eyes and glanced downward at the now-masked teen as his sister took on a fighting stance, defending the two males until they were prepared to fight for themselves.

"Get up, lazy-bones!" Patty squawked, authoritative encouragement suffusing his tone as he stretched out a hand to the Boy Wonder.

Robin grimaced in pain as he pulled himself up into a seated position; he took Patty's hand while keeping the other pressed against the gouges in his abdomen. He swayed to and fro, trying to find his bearings: Slade twisted his neck from side to side, stretching it out with a cracking noise as he regained his footing. He stood silently, looking from Percy, to Patty, to Robin, and back to Percy; his gaze was lucid and piercing, quick mind assessing every aspect of his plight.

After a moment of contemplation, Slade outstretched his hand and gestured for the three of them to attack.

Persephone replied by charging at him and forming two frozen swords—nimbly sprinting across the Great Hall; Robin and Patrokalos quickly followed suit, charging after the small girl. Slade, however, stood still; rather than attempting to evade the oncoming attacks, he remained patient—waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Once he was within reach, Persephone lunged at him and prepared to slam her swords into the man's flesh, but Slade retreated slightly, stepping back and away from the pouncing girl—sending her body sailing past him. When the blonde girl landed, totally overbalanced from her vault through the air, Slade clubbed her in the back of the head with his staff.

The angel squeaked in pain and tripped on her own feet like a klutz, sprawling out on the marble floors like a pathetic girl from an anime or something. Realizing that Slade's attention was fixed completely on the small girl, Robin recognized his window of opportunity and shared a glanced with Patty: the blonde boy's eyes flicked to his and he nodded. The two boys then ran up from behind and jumped into the air—their guttural battle-cries resounding feverishly—before they both delivered powerful roundhouse kicks to Slade's head, sending the villain stumbling headfirst into a wall.

Robin landed softly on his feet and Patrokalos tended to his twin while Slade remained against the wall in a daze.

Seeing his nemesis in a compromising position, Robin wasted no time; he descended upon him and unleashed a flurry of bone-jarring punches into the masked criminal's side. Slade brought his arms up—protecting his injured ribs—as he lurched forward slightly, causing Robin's powerful blows to glance off; though every strike stung, the severity of the damage sustained was minimal. After realizing that his opponent was on the defensive,

Robin chose to go for the knockout instead: he cocked his right arm and swung it forward, intending to knock Slade senseless.

The masked madman sprang forward unexpectedly, stopping the Boy Wonder's arm mid-punch. Slade tightly hooked his arm around Robin's and pulled him closer: the boy struggled for a moment, pulling against the madman in an attempt to wriggle free. Slade simply tightened his vice-like grip and, with a firm grasp on the wounded teen, violently brought his knee up into Robin's injured torso.

As Robin reeled from the crushing blow to his abdomen, Slade untangled his arm and seized the black-haired boy by the collar of his uniform. In a show of force, Slade lifted Robin into the air and turned, driving him back-first into the wall; he held him firmly in-place, gnashing his wounded flesh into the unyielding marble surface.

Slade sniggered wickedly as Robin flailed, thrashing wildly in an attempt to free himself.

"What were you hoping to accomplish, Robin?" Slade deigned bitterly, punctuating his words by thrusting Robin further into the wall. "Did you really think you stood a chance against me? You brought this upon yourself! You set the stage; I merely put the players in the right places at the appropriate times! How do you pull yourself from a rut of your own making?"

As the villain held him fast against the wall, Robin's gaze diverted from the masked man assaulting him to the twins standing across the room: Persephone was clutching her aching cranium with both of her small hands while Patrokalos massaged her temples with glowing fingers. After a moment, the light winked out and the girl shook herself from her stupor before she glanced around the room; upon catching sight of Slade, the twins wasted no time and jumped to their feet.

With soft musical notes, the twins disappeared in a flare of light before they began to approach from behind.

"With… help… from my… family," Robin choked out, a grin tracing across his countenance.

Slade's eye widened perceptibly as he realized his egregious error: neglecting to pay attention to the twins.

Before he could turn to redirect his malice, four hands slammed down on his shoulders and the unbridled strength of the impact caused his knees to buckle. Slade screeched in pain as the powerful hands began to clench down mercilessly, mashing the muscles and tissues within his shoulders and neck. The intensity of the pain caused him to release Robin, who quickly slid to the floor in a crumpled heap; Robin lay motionlessly for a moment before peering upward. Slade loomed over him, stumbling backward in pain; he was pulled back a few feet and roughly tossed toward the center of the Great Hall.

In Slade's place stood a majestic girl and boy with iridescent phoenix-like wings protruding from their back.

They glanced downward and looked at him questioningly.

"I'm fine!" Robin shouted as he struggled to lift himself from the floor; he pulled himself to his knees, yet remained bent over. He lifted his eyes to the small girl in front of her with an aggrieved expression upon his face. "Don't let Slade get away!"

Percy and Patty hesitated for a moment: it was abundantly clear that the injuries Robin had sustained were taking a toll on his body, and something stirred deep within the linked angels. Even though Robin had downplayed the severity of the many wounds on his body—more emphatic about Slade's capture than his own well-being—it was obvious that he was suffering greatly and practically clinging to life itself. Robin took a few more deep breaths before realizing that the twins were still standing in front of him; the Boy Wonder slowly craned his neck, lifting his gaze to their sapphire blue eyes once more.

"GO!" Robin yelled, his voice crackling.

"Fine," they stated simultaneously, lifting their hands and gripping his arms with a flash of light. Robin squeaked as his insides seared with cold fire and his eyes exploded with a flash of blinding color. When he was able to see again, the twins were running away and he could move much more freely without hurting: his body was almost completely healed now.

Persephone and Patrokalos sprinted toward the center of the Great Hall, where Slade had begun to peel himself off the floor: the masked criminal managed to get to his hands and knees, methodically regaining his composure. However, upon seeing an opportunity to take advantage of his weakened condition, Patrokalos gripped his sister's wrists and spun her around even as he ran before throwing her into the air: the blonde girl twisted her body like an acrobat, flipping like a star and bringing her legs up in an arc before slamming the toe of her dress shoe down onto the small of Slade's back—slamming him back down to the marble floor.

Slade gasped for air, coughing violently before he propped himself up with his forearm and fought to catch his breath.

Without a word, Persephone landed like a cat and seamlessly whirled around, clasping her brother's hand and using his gained momentum to spin him around in a circle: as Slade struggled to catch his breath, the girl spun her brother with all of her strength and watched as he ruthlessly kicked the ailing villain in the hip. Slade went airborne, then clattered to the ground in a heap, rolling to a stop just in front of the entrance to the vault. He remained prone, chest rising and falling as he struggled to breathe: the twins landed soon afterwards and stared at the motionless form on the floor of the Great Hall. Robin staggered across the floor of the Great Hall, limping in their direction: he fixed his eyes on the identical teenagers, who were standing a few feet away from Slade with meditative looks on their faces—as though they were wrestling with their thoughts. Robin rutted his brow in confusion as he stared, earnestly wondering what was going through their minds.

"Guys… what's going on?" Robin asked, voice light and breathy.

"Robin, stay back," Patrokalos warned, turning and leaping away from Percy for a moment.

That moment was a mistake, for he was not anticipating his twin sister's actions.

The blonde girl tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and turned her head to glance vacantly at the boys.

She wore no expression as she turned her head and faced Slade once again before letting her wings dissolve and summoning her swords: with a catlike growl, the girl darted toward Slade's prone form with an angry expression. Slade, alerted by the girl's clacking footsteps, managed to rise to a seated position; he turned his head in time to see the angel advancing rapidly.

"Percy?!" Patrokalos cried, whirling around in fright. "What are you doing?! Stop!"

However, the girl ignored her brother: as she closed in, Persephone raised her arms—revealing her glistening, opalescent ice blades. In a rapid movement, the girl's legs coiled—her muscles tensing under her weight—and sprang at Slade, going for his throat with an angry shriek. Slade, reacted quickly and brought his forearm up defensively: undaunted, the blonde girl brought both of her blades down on Slade's arm—sinking the ice shards deep into the villain's flesh. Slade let out a banshee-like shriek that scared the living daylights out of her: his bloodcurdling and pained howl echoed barbarically throughout the Hall, sounding more like the shriek of a demon than a man. Slade's scream quickly turned into a growl: instinctively, his free arm snapped up and tripped the girl before he began beating her in the chest; the angel responded by slashing even harder.

Slade tensed up, bracing himself against the agonizing pain: though his left forearm was being torn to ribbons, he adroitly shifted his weight and managed to hook his free arm around the girl's neck. With twinges of pain fuelling his rage, Slade tightened his grip and began wrenching the life from Persephone—hoping to free his shredded arm from her blows.

"You're all mine…" Slade growled almost inaudibly, face almost directly next to the trapped girl's ear. "Just give in and I'll make it quick…"

"Fuck you," Persephone hissed back, slicing her blades even deeper into his arm.

She began to feel lightheaded and faint, but the small teenager refused to release Slade's arm.

"Get off my sister!" Patrokalos roared, bolting forward and attacking the man; Slade spun at the last moment and tripped him as well before pulling the boy into a chokehold. The blonde instantly retaliated by forming an ice shard and slicing into his other arm: Slade hissed, by appeared undaunted by the attacks. He clenched down harder on their slender throats, making it almost impossible for the girl and boy to breathe.

Seeing that the twins were in serious peril, Robin reached down to his utility belt and removed his last bird-a-rang from one of its compartments. He stumbled forward slightly, bracing himself against a structural beam. Several sharp surges of pain tore through his body as he remained propped up.

His vision was becoming ever more blurry and out-of-focus.

Without hesitation, he flipped the device open and took aim at Slade—who continued to strangle the angels. Robin skillfully cocked his left arm and launched the weapon; the bird-a-rang struck the masked criminal in the back of the head, startling him. Slade, enraged by the attack, seemed to find new strength as his ferocity reasserted itself; he uncoiled his arms from around Percy and Patty's throats and grabbed them by their long hair. Jerking roughly, he tore the angels from his arms and easily hurled them through the air.

The twins went sailing in different directions.

Persephone went airborne and her head collided with the thick, steel vault door; the force of the impact knocked her senseless and she crumpled on the marble floor, left arm twisted awkwardly under her body. Patrokalos smacked his head on a marble pillar near the counter from which they'd taken shelter.

"Slade, leave them alone!" Robin shouted. "Your fight is with me now!"

"Very well, Robin!" Slade replied iniquitously, jeering at the Boy Wonder. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Robin pulled himself from the structural beam, stumbling forward on wobbly knees.

After a moment, he righted himself and charged forward.

In response, Slade ran toward Robin, meeting him halfway. Slade lunged, viciously tackling the wounded teenager to the floor. The pair grappled on the ground for a moment, both attempting to gain the upper-hand. Maintaining focus, Robin grabbed hold of Slade's uniform and shifted his weight, managing to roll out from underneath his nemesis. Robin cocked his uninjured arm and landed several devastating punches to Slade's head, forcing the back of his head into the marble floor below. Dazed but unfazed, Slade freed his arms and pushed the boy away and onto his back. In an instant, both men reached their feet and stood a distance apart, sizing each other up.

Robin got a running start and dashed toward Slade. He threw several punches, striking Slade in the abdomen. The masked criminal stumbled backward, clearly in pain, but refused to back down. Robin continued his assault, delivering a crushing side-kick to Slade's injured hip, causing him to fall to the floor a foot or so away from the wall adjoining the vault.

Slade groaned; though he tried to mask his pain, it was obvious that even he was suffering.

"It's over, Slade!" Robin barked, his timbre powerful and resounding.

The psychotic villain rose once more, shifting his weight to his unencumbered leg, hoping to ease his discomfort. He looked upon Robin with fiery contempt, refusing to give in or admit defeat. Robin stared headlong at Slade, his anger rising mercurially. Slade's unbridled arrogance and unwillingness to surrender gnawed at him; he viewed Slade's actions as a simple act of defiance. His fists tightened in anger, his rage boiled, and he began to lose control of himself. He cocked his arm and threw a vicious left hook, putting all he had behind the punch. Reading Robin's move, Slade blocked the errant attack and jabbed Robin in the throat, forcing the air from his lungs and eliciting gasps and wheezes of agony from the Boy Wonder. The madman reveled in the teen's torture for a moment, holding him up.

"It's not over until I say it's over!" Slade retorted. "Oh, and Robin… it's _over."_

As the injured teen hunched forward involuntarily, he drove the boy wonder head-first into the wall. A sickening thud echoed throughout the Great Hall before silence reemerged; Robin fell to the floor, breathing faintly. Slade cocked his head to the side slightly, admiring his handiwork. He stared intently at the motionless teen lying face-down on the marble floor: even though he had always enjoyed the veritable chess match between Robin and himself, part of him had always yearned for the day he would bring him to his knees.

Slade snickered, watching in delight as Batman's former apprentice squirmed.

"You know, Robin… I have waited for this day for a long time," Slade purred, kicking the boy in the ribs. "You and your friends have been thorns in my side, and though it has been a rare pleasure to face such strong opposition, my time for clandestine activity has come to an end. No more hiding. No more underground operations. It is high time that I announce my presence; what better time than now?"

"You're insane!" Robin squeaked.

"No... fate has smiled upon me," Slade sneered, leering down at him with a twisted gaze. "While I had always intended for this night to come, I never assumed that it could have come so quickly. I figured it was going to take time and patience to accomplish. As luck would have it, your decision to leave the twins behind… to _die…_ allowed all of this to happen at an accelerated rate. It put you in a vulnerable position, and allowed grief to permeate the hearts of your friends, causing them to be inattentive. Better still, it made the Harmony Twins bitter enough to come here and beat you within an inch of your life. Under normal circumstances, I would gladly finish what they started and kill you, but that would be too quick… too merciful. No, I want you to _live—_if _only_ to lay eyes upon the aftermath. To see the very future _you_ have made possible."

Slade took hold of Robin by the collar and lifted him into a semi-upright position.

As he held Robin up, he rifled through the various compartments of the Boy Wonder's utility belt. After a moment of searching, Slade found what he was looking for: the detonator. He extracted it from Robin's utility belt with his index and middle fingers before lowering it into the palm of his hand. He snickered softly, feeling invincibly victorious. Slade dragged Robin's unconscious body from the wall toward the entranceway to the vault. As he lugged the unconscious teen across the floor, surges of pain shot through his mangled arm; though his forearm ached agonizingly and continued to ooze blood, he paid no heed, looking forward to what was to come. Upon reaching the entrance to the vault, Slade's heart sank.

When he peered inside, he immediately realized that something was amiss: Patrokalos was still unconscious, but Persephone was nowhere in sight.

He dropped Robin to the floor roughly before inching his way inside cautiously, looking from side-to-side.

Percy bit her lip as she clung to the ceiling with shaking arms, legs dangling painfully below her as she remained hidden by her distortion over light. She choked back a whimper of agony as Slade glanced around the vault, taking in every last detail: the ceiling and walls were comprised of concrete and three of the walls were lined in row upon row of steel lockboxes—presumably to secure money and valuable items.

The floor was marble, like the rest of the bank. In the corner of the vault—the corner closest to the door—stood a small cache of supplies that looked glaringly out-of-place: a stainless steel cart with several large oxygen canisters strapped to it, a large brown packing box with the letters 'MRE' stamped upon it in black ink, a case of bottled water, and what looked like an acetylene cutting torch lying on top of the brown box.

"Persephone, I know you're here and hiding like a coward," Slade shouted, his voice echoing madly within the confines of the vault as he ventured further inside. " If you had any courage, you would face me like a grown woman instead of a scared little girl. Although, I suppose you and I both know how that would end, don't we? You know that you are no match for me and you're _much_ too hurt to go on, so you figure that you can sneak away. It doesn't matter what you do: soon this city will belong to me."

Percy's mind raced interminably as she flailed and kicked her legs, trying to think of a sensible solution to the problem at hand without falling from the ceiling. On one hand, she knew that Slade was right; both she, Patrokalos, and Robin were too hurt to fight. Slade, on the other hand, was minimally hurt: his wounded forearm continued to bleed and he was favoring his left leg, but his injuries were far from lethal.

Worse yet, the collection of sundry items in the corner of the vault proved that Slade was deadly serious.

In order for someone to survive for any period of time in an airtight bank vault, one would need food, water, and oxygen.

Slade had all three, along with a torch to cut his way out of the vault after the dust had settled.

"Have it your way, Percy!" Slade yelled angrily, turning around and moving toward the entranceway of the vault. "It's fitting that you'd abandon your brother to die alone like a frightened child… rather than die with him. You are a _coward,_ little girl!"

Percy took a deep breath, steadying herself; she knew that she had to make a move and weighed her options.

_Not only is Slade willing to destroy the city, but he has everything he needs to carry out his plan,_ Persephone whimpered silently, _harms trembling with the strain of hanging onto the ceiling in total silence. Patty is out of it; Robin can't fight… hell, he shouldn't even be moved. On top of that, I know I'm hurt too badly to fight… but if I leave… if I do nothing… everyone in this city will die! Everyone I care about… and everyone I love… will be gone! Patty, what do I do?! What do I do?!_

In that moment, Percy realized what she had to do: stop relying on her brother, yet, at the same time, rely on him heavily.

Her brother was the other half of her soul… so if he was unconscious, the dark energy she was about to use would balance out later.

"_To sing thy Song of Wrath and bend thy word of Man to thy Will,_" she whispered, eyes flaring bright red as her hair turned silver, "_I call forth the key to the door of fire. Wrath shall consume all those who hear thy tongue… and the Angel of Darkness shall foreshadow thy awakening._"

Once the flood of dark energy engulfed her mind and filled her body with raw, godly, and utterly dangerous power, Persephone quickly and silently summoned a wall of air and lowered herself from the ceiling to the floor using a carefully controlled cocoon of wind. Using this was a last resort for any angel, especially when control was so hard to maintain. Discreetly, she tiptoed back to the vault's entranceway, where she remained and waited. As Slade approached, she patiently waited for him—anticipating the perfect moment to strike as she waited in plain sight, unseen.

Once Slade was within her reach, Percy made her move.

Without pause, the girl lifted her arms and drew upon all of her major powers as the light shifted and she became visible.

"FEEL MY WRATH, MORTAL!" she screeched, and leapt into the air—catching Slade by surprise.

Using her powerful fists as a deafening electrical noise exploded out of her body in rippling waves, the girl vigorously slammed Slade in the abdomen, launching him into the air: he slammed roughly against the back wall of the vault as the sound and wind intensified, whipping the girl's long blonde hair around her body. Jostled by the concussive force, Slade lost his hold over the detonator and it slid underneath the stainless steel cart in the corner of the room. Slade pressed a hand to his abdomen as he rose to his feet, shaking his head from side-to-side and clutching his ears, trying to regain equanimity through the cacophony. He glanced downward as he removed his hand from his wounded torso; it was spotted with blood. Though he was injured the girl's sharp blades had sliced him open, the wound was not altogether serious. Percy lifted her skinny arms as Slade collected himself, eyes glowing red: she knew that she had little time to act and that she had to make the most of her next decision; she drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling. Wantonly, she turned, grabbed hold of the vault door, and slammed it shut—locking herself inside with Slade before stepping in front of the stainless steel cart.

"How amusing," Slade stated over the screeching noise.

"Stick around and witness the finale, butt nugget!" Persephone said resolutely, flicking her long hair like a diva and cocking her hip as she let the deafening sound and roaring wind dissipate. "You wanted me to 'face you like a grown woman' and that's exactly what I'm going to do. If you want to get your precious detonator back, you'll have to go through me to get it."

Slade chuckled in condescension, his roaring timbre practically shaking the room.

"I must admit that I am very impressed, Percy," Slade laughed with biting arrogance. "You know that you cannot win yet you stand before me prepared to fight. I've got to hand it to you, girl: you have guts. Honestly, I think I'd like to tear them all out and play with them."

"You're welcome to try it," Percy retorted smoothly, giving him a sarcastic salute. Slade stood in silence as the two stood staring at one: an anxious tension saturated the atmosphere as the inevitability of what was to transpire became increasingly evident. Percy and Slade were going to do battle as the collective fate of an entire city hanged precariously in the balance.

**TXXXXXT**

A stunned silence stifled the apartment as Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire exchanged frozen glances. Though everyone's mind raced interminably—as multifarious unanswered questions sprang forth like weeds—no one spoke; it was as though all vitality had been drained from the atmosphere and themselves, leaving little behind but hollow husks.

Raven stood motionlessly, peering down at her dumbfounded friends.

Starfire rubbed her hands together, continually fidgeting: she stared down at the carpet below, almost as though she were studying it intently. Beast Boy, on the other hand, seemed to wither: he stared straight ahead unblinkingly and his unbroken emerald gaze practically bored holes into the pallid walls of the apartment. Raven's muscles tensed up; her head still ached profusely as the wound to her midsection continued to sting and burn. Worse yet, waves of sadness, shock, disbelief, and grief radiated from Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire, sullying the already uneasy climate of the apartment. Time seemed to stand still; each disconcerting moment stretched on and on, like ripples through water, becoming all-encompassing. Within the awkward silence laid security; it was as though—so long as no one spoke—the prevailing stillness prevented the sadness they had borne from resurfacing. Starfire's soon raised her eyes—meeting Raven's—before clearing her throat.

"Raven," Starfire stated softly, voice quaking with emotion, "are… are you certain you were not mistaken? Percy… Patty… I, too, think of them often… but they are no longer with us…"

"What are you trying to say?" Raven asked, raising her voice and stiffening in irritation; upon hearing Raven's words, Cyborg roused himself, breaking his trance-like fixation on the wall over her shoulder. He shook his head quickly before running his hand down the human side of his face, rubbing his eye roughly with the heel of his palm.

"C'mon, Raven…" Cyborg said exasperatedly. "You said yourself that you blacked out after Slade's goons caught you off-guard at the hospital. We all miss the twins… we've all been thinking about them a lot. Maybe… you just had a really vivid dream."

"It wasn't a dream, and I'm not going crazy!" Raven shouted, seething at the insinuation. "Persephone and Patrokalos saved me and brought me here! The two of them are the only reason why I'm alive right now!"

Beast Boy's expression immediately changed: even though he was struggling to be understanding and sympathetic of Raven's situation, his patience had quickly worn thin over the past few months. The changeling stood up—his green-skinned face a mosaic of agitation and sorrow—before he shot Raven a disapproving glare and began to walk toward the door.

"Beast Boy… please, listen to me…" Raven said evenly, reining in her emotions. The changeling immediately froze and slowly turned to face the sorceress: his features slowly twisted and gnarled in anger, gloved fists clenching in rage.

"No… I tried to make you listen to me for nearly six years, so I think it's high time you see how it feels," Beast Boy growled, speaking without a shred of compassion in his tone. "Do you think this is easy for me, Raven? Do you?! She was the girl I loved! She was my best friend in the entire world, but the last thing I said to her actually made her cry! She's gone, yet you're standing here trying to tell me that she's back from the dead?! Look, I can take a beating and I can handle pain, but don't expect me to stick around while you drag the twins through the mud!"

"Beast Boy!" Raven muttered through clenched teeth, her aggravation pervading, "I'm not lying to you! If you would just hear me out instead of being so quick to jump to irrational conclusions—"

"_Irrational Conclusions_?!" Beast Boy shouted angrily, absolutely outraged. "What a crock of—"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Cyborg finally roared, quickly rising from the couch and startling Starfire profoundly.

He stalked over and stood between the changeling and Raven with his arms outstretched: the cybernetic teenager's tumultuous and unexpected interjection had done much to startle both Raven and Beast Boy as well, who seemed unwilling to back down or compromise. The sorceress and the changeling each took a step back, seemingly deflated; Raven quickly turned away as Beast Boy stood fuming, trying to calm himself down.

"Doing the screaming won't solve anything!" Starfire uneasily peeped. "Friends, we should deal with this using opened minds!"

"Rae," Cyborg continued, "you have to forgive us for not believing your side of the story—but put yourself in our position for a second! You're talking about the twins and talking about how they saved your life and brought you here—but at the same time, they're not here. If they're really still alive, then… well, where the hell are they?"

Raven fell silent: while she knew that the twins had survived, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire simply could not bring themselves to believe it: anger began to roil within her soul as she searched for a suitable explanation. Before she could begin, however, a staid tone—coming from across the room—cut through the stillness.

"Persephone and Patrokalos, the boy and girl you guys call the Harmony Twins, were here—but you missed them," Will said softly, cocking an eyebrow as he emerged from the hallway leading to the bedrooms. "They took off a while ago."

Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire all looked at the young man as he walked into the living room, rubbing his neck roughly with his hand and massaging his aching muscles. With little fanfare, William unceremoniously flopped down on the dark tan couch in the center of the room, outstretching his arms across the back of it. Cyborg's eye narrowed and he lunged at Will, clutching him by his shirt collar and lifting him into the air: the man instinctively grabbed hold of the mechanical boy's wrists and tried to squirm free, grunting in pain as the grip on his clothes tightened.

"Do you think you're funny?" Cyborg bellowed, clenching his teeth as he violently shook the nurse. "If you're joking, I swear it'll be the last thing you ever do!"

Acting fast, Raven encased Will in her dark energy and held him suspended in the air as Starfire grabbed Cyborg by the shoulders, pulling him away from the young physician's assistant. Cyborg fought mightily against Starfire, his arms flailing wildly as he strained, trying desperately to free himself from the Tamaranian's grip. After a few moments of furor, he stopped struggling and fell silent, hanging his head.

Starfire cautiously loosened her grip on the cybernetic teen.

Though she had no desire to continue restraining him, she didn't want him to lash out again. As the commotion died down and equilibrium returned to the room, Raven gently set Will back down on the couch, his eyes wide with terror as he panted heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

The poor man was having one hell of a night.

"Raven…" Starfire murmured gently, "this is most confusing… you both claim that the twins are in fact alive, yet… how can that be? Robin told us all… what happened, and he was with the twins when they…"

"Robin lied to us, Starfire," Raven rasped evenly. "All of us."

"NO!" Starfire wailed angrily, eyes glowing green as her rage erupted, "I refuse to believe that Robin would deceive all of us! He is our friend, and he is the one I love! He promised to never keep secrets from me! He would never do such a thing!"

Cyborg raised his head and looked at Raven, contempt still residing in his gaze; he clenched his teeth together tightly, holding in his barbed resentment. After a moment of cogitation, however, his anger seemed to taper off, replaced once more by inconsolable woe. Beast Boy merely stared at Raven with blank eyes, not knowing how to respond to this information.

Raven had never lied to them… and she was the most trustworthy of the Titans.

"Raven," Cyborg spoke, his booming voice reduced to a veritable whisper; his expression softened by sadness, "That night on the bridge… I dug the twins out from underneath the debris. I saw how badly they were hurt, and I ran a scan on both of them before Robin sent me away. They were on death's doorstep, so as my friend, how can you tell me they're alive?"

"Because they are…" Raven replied, shaking her head from side to side. "I know it's hard to believe—I didn't believe it at first, either, but it's true: Persephone and Patrokalos are alive, and very scarred up from what they went through."

Cyborg hung his head once more, refusing to look at Raven; Starfire also turned away, angered by the sorceress's brazen allegations against Robin. Beast Boy merely stared at her, green eyes glittering as something inside his expression changed for the better. Raven stared at all of her friends knowingly; earlier in the day she had experienced the same emotions, so she knew exactly what they were going through and how difficult it was to comprehend. At the same time, however, she was growing impatient: the twins had taken off by themselves to face Slade, but with their lingering injuries… time was of the essence.

Will remained on the couch with a pensive expression on his face.: he had listened to the Titans argue with one another.

Though he'd tried to stay out of it, he couldn't help but overhear bits and pieces of pertinent information.

"Hey… uh, Scrap Heap," Will stated, gesturing to Cyborg; riled, the black boy began to charge at him once more, but was held back by Starfire, who remained alert and prepared. "You said that you scanned the twins while they were injured on the bridge, but did you assess their injuries?"

Upon hearing Will formulate a serious question, Cyborg backed off; he stopped his forward progress and stood still, mere feet away from the dark tan couch. The male nurse slowly stood up and took a few furtive steps toward the mechanical teen.

"Yeah," Cyborg replied hesitantly, giving him a wary expression, "but what's it to you?"

"Do you remember all of their injuries specifically?" Will asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yes," Cyborg rapped out. "I have it saved in my memory banks, okay? Why does it matter?"

"Because," Will responded slyly, "if you want proof that the twins are alive, I can give you all the proof you need."

"Excuse me?" Cyborg demanded, looking at Will as he rutted his brow. His curiosity was piqued: the mechanical teenager didn't quite understand how the man standing before him was going to prove anything substantial with such trivial information.

"As far as you know," Will stated, looking at his nails, "you and Robin were the last two people to see them, right?"

"True," Cyborg replied, feeling thoroughly intrigued.

"Then there would be no logical way for me to know all of the injuries they sustained, would there?" Will asked as a slight smirk slid across his face; he glanced skyward for a moment and stroked his chin lightly, assembling his thoughts before averting his gaze back to Cyborg, who eyed him suspiciously. "Both twins suffered a punctured lung accompanied by a sucking chest wound, there were multiple lacerations and puncture wounds to Persephone's chest, there was a deep wound that punctured Patty's stomach, and a deep gash was opened just above Percy's right eye and Patty's left eye. On top of that, Patrokalos had a fractured left tibia in his left leg, Persephone had three clean breaks in her forearm and elbow, and both twins suffered a concussion that caused mild tissue swelling. I'm fairly certain I didn't leave anything out… or, did I?"

Cyborg glanced down at the screen embedded in his right arm and studied it intently for a moment: seconds later, his eye slowly widened and his face drained of all color. William's estimation of their injuries wasn't merely an educated guess; he'd been absolutely correct, right down to the concussion—which was doubly hard to predict since it had been an internal injury.

"He's… he's… right," Cyborg whispered in disbelief; Beast Boy and Starfire stared at William incredulously. Though the answer appeared to be looming ominously overhead, none of them seemed willing to consider it. It wasn't recalcitrance that bolstered their reluctance to accept the seemingly obvious truth. Rather, it was optimism: in order for the Harmony Twins to be alive… there were deeper, much more sinister lies that actually had to be in play.

"Look here, kids," Will sighed, rubbing his eyes as his patience finally wore thin. "I'm only going to explain this once; after that, make of it what you will, okay? We got a trauma call a few weeks back, but the dispatcher was very vague with the details about the situation we were preparing for. All she told us was that we had Mercy Flight incoming—that was it."

"What does that—" Beast Boy tried to ask.

"Let me finish," Will snapped, glaring until he shut his mouth. "When the chopper landed, a paramedic emerged absolutely covered in blood. Between the blood-soaked uniform and her expression, you could tell that it was bad news. We wheeled the two gurneys over and got the patients secured: it was Patty and Percy. She informed us that the twins had already flat-lined multiple times in the chopper, so we got them into surgery and worked on them for hours. The twins flat-lined again on the operating table, but Dr. Andrews saved their lives. Rebecca and I have been taking care of the twins throughout their recovery at the Jump City Medical Center—but after the hospital got attacked, we came here since we figured it was safer."

Raven finally stepped forward and looked at her friends, who were beginning to process what actually occurred. Surges of anger, outrage, and uncertainty wafted from them abundantly, sending a jolting pain through her aching head. She ignored the throbbing and took a deep breath, preparing to dispel the web of deception in which Robin had them skillfully embroiled.

"I understand how you are feeling," Raven began softly, voice wavering with emotion. "When I first saw the twins, I couldn't believe it either. I was so shocked… that I couldn't come to terms with how they'd had managed to survive. I didn't know what to think. Then, Patrokalos took me by the hand… and I saw what happened to them… through his eyes."

Raven paused for a moment; the entire scene unfolded before once more. She struggled to put the images out of her mind, but found herself unable to do so. She inhaled a few times, hoping to calm her frazzled nerves.

"We need the truth, Raven," Cyborg admonished sternly, glancing at the Empath; Starfire and Beast Boy stood next to him, nodding assent with expressions of fierce determination and an almost painful amount of brittle hope. Raven stared back at them all, knowing that—at the very least—she owed them the truth… no matter how much it pained her to recant the tale.

"When he touched me, Patty unwittingly transferred some of his memories to me. Take my hands, and I'll show you all what I saw…" Raven said softly, keeping her eyes tightly closed since she didn't wish to see their reactions; when her three companions touched her body, she uttered her words of power. "Azarath… Metrion… Xinthos."

They were swept away by the light.

_They all opened their eyes to find themselves standing on the Jump City Bridge in Raven's body. _

_Persephone and Patrokalos D'Andesyrius lay amidst a pile of pulverized stones and jagged chunks of metal: the top of their titan uniforms were shredded, revealing a blood-stained bra and abdomen on Percy and a chest that was covered in deep lacerations from the falling debris on patty. The blonde boy's left leg was pinned under a sizable slab of concrete and his body was twisted in an awkward fashion; the blonde girl's arm was bent practically in half and had been pinned against her back as she lay twisted under a large metal beam. Robin was standing right in front of them with his mask set aglow._

_"Robin, please..." Percy mewled with a catlike sob, staring up at him with pleading blue eyes. _

_"Help us..." Patty begged, hand twitching out to the dark-haired boy. _

_"I'm sorry, Harmony Twins…" Robin said quietly, turning around with a wave. "I wish there was some other way."_

_Then he was gone_

_The twins slipped in and out of consciousness as they cried: in one moment, they were alert and coherent, and in the next they were disoriented. Their breaths grew even shorter and they began to cough up blood, which dried on their soft lips._

_"They left us here…" Patrokalos whispered brokenly; his lower lip, which was completely coated in dry blood, began to quiver as warm tears began spilling down his ashen cheeks, leaving a trail in the blood that had crusted there. "They… they abandoned us… like everyone else."_

_"I… I thought they loved us," Persephone whined, slowly turning her head to look at her brother with shattered blue eyes filled with pain. "I... guess I was wrong. We've... only had each other from the start... and since we... were alone in the beginning... I guess, in the end... that's where we'll be."_

_"I love you, Persephone," Patty sobbed, letting out a wet wheezing noise that made Raven wince. "I'm sorry."_

_"So am I..." the blonde girl whispered, closing her own eyes; a single tear slid down her cheek. "I wish I could have told Beast Boy I loved him just one more time... I know he'll blame himself if we die here tonight. He'll sit quietly until it crushes his heart, just like with Terra."_

_"I wish I could have told Raven that my heart was hers the moment I saw her," Patty laughed sadly, then choked a bit. "I love her."_

Before anything else could be said, Raven opened her eyes and looked at her friends: the metallic teenager was visibly shaken by the vision. He was embittered and angered, but at the same time, Raven could sense that he was also berating himself… even though he wasn't the one who had decided to abandon the twins. Beast Boy, however, was shaking with dilated eyes and barely-restrained anger was searing through his veins. He looked to be on the verge of exploding into the form of the Beast. Starfire, on the other hand, said nothing to the vision: she simply hung her head and looked at the floor once again, but to Raven, it was as though her emotions had been caught in a whirlpool and dragged beneath the surface.

"Robin… just left them there?!" Cyborg yelled—the muscles in his neck tensing—feeling deceived. "How could he do that to the Harmony Twins? How could he stand there, knowing how badly they were hurt, and just… leave them to die?"

"Yes…" Starfire mumbled, her eyes brimming with tears. "How could he watch as we grieved for our friends? How could he… tell untruth after untruth… so often, for so long? He promised… we would keep no secrets. He... he..."

"That bastard…" Beast Boy hissed before falling silent, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut in a rage. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to beat him to a living pulp and rip his arms off for doing that to Persephone…"

Cyborg paced back and forth, his face devoid of expression; he looked as though his heart had been torn from his chest, but even though he was absolutely livid on the inside, outwardly he showed very little emotion. It was rare to see Cyborg so quiet and reserved; aside from Beast Boy, he was one of the Titans who made people laugh, usually quick with a lighthearted comment or a sympathetic ear. Starfire and also remained uncharacteristically stolid. Ebullient by nature, it was unusual for the either the Tamaranian to be bogged down by misery. The princess was unfailingly forgiving and good-natured; even when someone was curt or cross with her, she rebounded quickly with a jubilant vigor and optimism. Instead, she stood a few feet from Cyborg with tears welling in her eyes, absolutely crestfallen.

Beast Boy, on the other hand, was simply furious.

He looked up and glared at the sky as he grit his teeth with a feral growl.

"I'm going to kill him," the changeling hissed again.

Raven's gasp was the only thing that filled the room: with a startled expression, she clutched her head and let out a shriek.

Her eyes unwillingly began to glow.

_She found herself staring down at Slade as he held her above the ground by the throat, blood-soaked hair sticking to her forehead and tattered school uniform clinging to her skin. She saw that he held a large, metal canister in his free hand, and his eye was like a hot coal, glowing intensely as he stared at her—demeanor arrogant and dominant._

_"You are a fool, Persephone! I offered your entire family an opportunity!" __Slade snarled. _ "I extended my hand to you! I offered to take all three of you under my wing and you spat in my face! I tortured you for five years to strengthen you! I killed all of the people you loved to show you and your pathetic family that nothing mortal can live longer than you can!" 

_"You're wrong!" Raven cried, hearing Percy's unmistakable soprano squeak coming out of her mouth. _

_She felt a crushing pain and let out a strangled yelp as Slade tightened the grip on her throat before throwing her against the steel vault. Not even a moment after she slumped to her knees, something collided with her jaw and then her ribs when she doubled over. She let out a whining cry as she panted for breath, waves of anguish radiating through her like an electrical current. Without hesitation, the masked criminal continued his assault; he raised the metal canister above his head and brought it crashing down into her before repeating the motion, bludgeoning her once more._

_"They are going to be MINE, Percy!" Slade snarled, oily facade devolving into madness as he revealed his true colors. "Before I dispatch the rest of this miserable city, I am going to kill every one of your friends! I want you to live just long enough to enjoy the show; I want their screams to be the soundtrack to the remaining moments of your pathetic life. I will make you and your brother watch as I take them apart… piece by piece, inch by inch… until there is nothing left. Trust me, dear girl… by the time I'm finished, you will finally understand human suffering!"_

_"Nooo…" Raven moaned with Percy's voice as she writhed in agony, feeling as though she was being torn asunder. Her midsection felt like it was ablaze; every breath she took seared. She spat up blood as she coughed, her internal injuries mounting as Slade continued to bear down on her._

_"The question is… who should face my wrath first?" Slade inquired, leering down at her with eyes that burned silver. "I suppose it would be easy enough to finish off Robin, but that would almost be anticlimactic. After all, you did more damage to him than I could have anticipated. Perhaps I should start with Starfire? She has a warrior's spirit, and what a feeling it would be to break her down—to hear her cry out, to hear her beg for mercy. The very thought excites me. Wait... No, I believe want to savor her for last… to revel in her despair. That only leaves Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven. I believe I could learn a great deal from tearing Cyborg apart—piece by piece—and studying his anatomy. What a glory to hear him scream. Beast boy's a definite ponder-situation, but as for your 'big sister' Raven… well, I have a feeling that under her impenetrable veneer lays a wounded little girl just clamoring to be heard."_

_"You…" Percy's voice hissed through Raven's lips as unearthly fury slowly began to build inside her chest, bubbling and roiling within her core as the masked villain continued to slander the Titans._

_"I am going to make her scream… I am going to make her weep… I am going to brutalize her until she is willing to throw herself at my feet and submit to my supremacy. I want to look into her eyes as her fire—her fortitude—withers away into nothing," Slade cackled maniacally. "Your sister will be mine, little angel: she may think she understands darkness now, but by the time I am through with her she will realize how little she truly knows. I will break her body... crush her spirit… and violate her soul…"_

_As Slade knelt down and grabbed her long hair, Raven saw glints of soft silver in his gloved fist as he pulled her closer, her face coming within mere inches from his. She felt a surge of emotion—unadulterated and unparalleled—rush through her; it was like nothing she had ever felt before. Flashes of deep-rooted resentment and hatred charged through her at first; her mind flooded with rage as she stared at Slade's cold features, his eye peering back at her mockingly. As the initial flux of fury faded, lucidity gripped her and she felt completely level-headed, calculating the best possible course of action._

_"You bastard!" Persephone's voice ripped from Raven's mouth and an indescribable pain—the worst pain the Empath had ever experienced—pulsed through her entire being. Something within the angel's mind and soul snapped open the moment he said this, and a door that had been hidden within her heart—waiting until that moment in time to reveal the power that lay behind it—flew open, letting forth an unearthly rage. Her mind became deadly calm as her body began to fill with an unnatural sense of icy energy and inhuman fearlessness. Righteous fury roared to life inside of the girl's heart as her blue-eyed gaze locked onto Slade's malevolent eye. Percy's lips drew back into a feral sneer as her blue eyes began to ripple like water, watching with satisfaction as his own eye widened when her pupils contracted into razor-bladed slits. _

_A sparkling blue glow began to pulse around her body as the rage intensified; it became brighter and brighter as strength seeped back into her limbs and power surged into her mind. Her senses of sight, sound, and smell enhanced drastically within seconds, and she let out an angry catlike hiss as her rippling white-gold eyes flared with bright blue light from the pupil outward before darkening from pale gold into a deep, sparkling crimson the same way. _

_Percy gave into the deadly feeling of the icy energy and slowly rose to her feet as Slade backed away. _

_Head bowed for a moment, the girl slowly lifted her eyes to the ceiling, lifted her arms into the air, fists to the sky, and threw her head back before letting out an inhuman scream that shattered the fabrics of nature: it echoed out through the vault and made its way into the town outside, the power of her voice not letting any nook or cranny remained unscathed. The shriek reverberated against the trees, ripped through the streets, and rebounding off of the stones of the earth and the cars of the civilians—making all of them vibrate with life and power. Slade screeched and clamped his hands to his ears from the force of it. _

_Percy took a deep breath, fists going tighter as the power completely engulfed her body, and screamed again. Long, piercing, otherworldly—the sound avalanched through the air and made the earth seem to tremble as tears began streaming from her eyes. The buildings began to tremble as the very sky began to tingle with static electricity; Slade shrieked again as the ripping scream tore at his sensitive eardrums. _

_Percy took another deep breath and arched her back as she stretched to the sky, letting out a third wail of rage as blood dripped onto the floor: this scream was the worst yet, and the power of it tore the fabric of space. Wind began to swirl around her and dust rose from the ground, spinning with the moving air as the particles of dirt were caught by the current. Darkness began to gather all around, the power of the small girl's scream taking the very light away from the world and pulling it to her the same way that her voice was pulling the air. Light and Dark moved around Persephone's form as she released an ancient magic known to Raven only as the 'eternal sacrifice' into her scream of rage. Raven gazed out through Percy's eyes as the horrifying scene unfolded._

_It was the same thing that had been happening to the twins when the Titans had first met them... only Patrokalos was no longer present._

_ The girl now stood screaming in the center of a maelstrom as the light was sucked into her body. _

_Darkness fell all around, sending an impenetrable shadow across the moon and placing the world in unbreakable shadow. _

_Where Slade stood, it was blacker than the deepest of nights: the light of the world had been stolen by Percy's hidden powers and was swirling around her—night around day. Lightning tore violently across the sudden blackness of the Earth, flashing rapidly in every direction: forking, doubling, over and over until the sky seemed to burn. Thunder rolled through the countryside, coalescing into a continuous fury and mixing with her scream, becoming apart of it. The ground shook with the violence of the magic, and the wind swirled around her frame so forcefully that the sturdy walls of the bank began to bend helplessly against the gale. _

_Her fourth scream went beyond sound, to something else entirely: all around, the earth cracked open in ferocious, jagged tears and shafts of violet light shot toward the sky from the sudden chasms in the ground. The bluish-purple curtains of light vibrated, danced, and—with gathering speed—were pulled into the vortex and sucked into the girl's body. There was suddenly a horrific impact to the air when the last of the violet light was pulled into her; i__n a brief—but tremendous flash of light—Raven's hazed mind saw every single one of the bricks inside the room blown away in a huge cloud of white. A wall of dust and man-made debris flew out in every direction from the ground, and Raven heard the Slade screaming in agony as the debris hit his body hard enough to rip the skin from his bones. The ferocity of the concussion tore the darkness away and the light was returned to the earth. However, another explosion of power slammed into the air, and the icy energy that had filled Percy's mind blasted out of the girl's body before swirling around her suddenly-drenched form. _

_Shimmering blue sparkles made of burning pinpoints of light surrounded her upper torso before outlining two, extremely long appendages that began to form into solid bone protrusions, both of which extended from her back. Letting her instinctive mind take over her body for the moment, Persephone stared at Slade from across the room. _

_"Impressive strength..." the man snickered. "Even at death's door, you never fail to amaze me."_

_"Drop dead..." Percy's voice said monotonously. _

_Slade's eye widened when she lifted her hand with a graceful motion and a red haze engulfed his form. She held her palm out as sorrow filled her heart; closing her eyes and squeezing them shut before clenching her palm into a fist. Slade screamed in agony as his bones popped and snapped, and an audible squishing and bursting noise filled the room as something vital exploded inside of him. When he collapsed, he reached to his utility belt and pulled a small black device from it, grasping it tightly. After a moment, however, his arm began to tremble of its own accord: the tremors grew exponentially, causing him to lose his handhold on the device; it fell to the floor and rolled to the back corner of the vault, where it came to a rest. _

_Upon witnessing this, Percy instantly became lightheaded, her field of vision blurring and narrowing. She gazed at the luminous ceiling as the world tilted once again and she fell to the ground, a trail of blood escaping her lips before she hit the marble floor. As she lay there, bloodied, nude, and broken... a strange amalgamation of sentiments clashed within her: penitence was at the forefront, tempered by relief. As her environs began to fade to black, a final feeling asserted itself: love. _

_It filled her…suffused her…assuaged her. _

_In that moment—though her pain was absolute—she felt completely at ease… and entirely at peace._

_The_ _girl stumbled_ _out of the_ _vault and __made her way over to where Robin was lying unconscious._ _With gentle movements, she knelt down and touched his shoulder: the boy's body was engulfed in a radiant aura and all of his injuries were healed. Then she stood up and staggered over to where her brother was lying slumped against the desk. Her eyes blurred as she stumbled over to him, wounds healing of their own accord as she fell to her knees: the moment she touched the unconscious blonde boy, the starlight hue that had overtaken her hair bled out and returned to gold from the roots down. She slowly grasped his hand as his wounds healed, slumping over and feeling the exhaustion taking over her body._

_"We'll survive this..." Raven whispered through Percy's mouth, falling onto her brother's chest and weakly closing her eyes, "but now I'm a murderer. __I killed Slade._"

As the vision abruptly receded, Raven wilted to the floor, trembling as she gasped for air.

As she lay, her side pressed against the wooden surface, she tried to suppress her emotions—to regain control of them. She was unsuccessful: her involuntary journey into Persephone's mind—experiencing what the girl had just endured and witnessed—had distressed her; the raw emotions she had felt, the horrific things she had seen, and the vicarious torment she had been subjected to remained at the forefront of her mind. Though she worked diligently to regain equilibrium, she could feel herself losing control. Tendrils of dark energy erupted from Raven's body as she lay on the floor: the apartment walls began to rattle and shake, debris from the floor whipped around in the air, and the lights—which were recessed into the ceiling—flickered as the bulbs exploded, shrouding the room in darkness.

Amidst the sudden chaos stood Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire, who quickly spun around to tend to the ailing sorceress.

Without pause, Starfire rushed to Raven's side.

She crouched down beside the Empath's quaking form, studying her countenance. Her pallid features were contorted in a grimace of pain: her dark hair was hanging in her face and lingering around her eyes, which were glowing bright white; her teeth were clenched to stifle a scream as she thrashed.

"Raven! Please! Calm yourself!" Starfire shouted.

Raven, however, remained unresponsive; her back arched as her muscles wrenched excruciatingly. An almost-inhuman din rose within her as she flailed, laden with misery and suffering. Will took cover behind the couch as the walls began to rattle feverishly within their frames; some of the rivets holding them together began to succumb to the friction, snapping under the stress. Objects continued to take flight, whipping around and ricocheting off of every object with deadly force.

"Star!" Cyborg hollered as he was struck by an airborne oxygen canister, "You gotta get her to relax before she tears this place apart!"

"Raven!" Starfire spoke loudly, practically pleadingly. "Focus on my words! Listen to my voice! You must get a hold of yourself! Breathe deeply… concentrate…"

One again, her words fell on deaf ears.

She pulled her gaze from Raven and looked toward Cyborg—who remained prudently positioned over Rebecca and William, protecting the two normal humans from the debris flying perniciously around them. His expression was a cavalcade of worry and concern: as their eyes met, she realized that—if she didn't succeed—she would be failing not only herself, but her friends as well. She drew in a deep breath, attempting to settle her frazzled nerves.

"Please… Raven… I hope you can hear me…" Starfire shouted, her voice wavering with emotion. "Cyborg, Beast boy, and I need your help… but more importantly, the twins need your help! They need you to be strong! They need you to pull yourself together and be there for them! Otherwise, all hope is lost!"

Suddenly, the objects suspended in the air dropped unceremoniously to the floor, ringing hollowly: after a moment, silence descended upon the room once more.

Starfire looked down at Raven, who lay with her eyes half-open and stared off into the distance.

"We need to get to the jump city bank right now," the empath whispered blankly. "The one on fifth avenue. Percy and Patty are there... and Slade's dead..."

Without another word, Raven passed out cold... leaving three stunned teenagers to stare at her in shock.


	40. Chapter 39: A Price to Pay

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Price to Pay**

_Ow... ow... ow... ow... ow..._ Percy chanted silently, not really knowing what else to think aside from the monotonous drone that seemed to have invaded her body and sleeping mind. However, when the girl opened her sparkling blue eyes, there was no buzzing in her head… no pain… no shouting… no screaming… nothing was smoking or burning. In fact, it seemed rather nice, wherever she was: she was lying down on something soft, and she was covered in warm blankets. The sky... or possibly the ceiling... was a soft blue color.

Then the voices reached her.

"—but it would be better than doing nothing!" Starfire wailed from the hallway. "Our friends are hurt and I want to do something! Perhaps I am alone in my principles…"

"That's not fair, and you know it!" Beast Boy retorted sharply, raising his voice slightly and making Persephone's heart flutter; the last time she'd heard him speak felt like years ago. She was so tempted to get up and run to him that she nearly forgot what they were talking about. "I would never turn my back on a friend! I know that sitting here isn't your idea of action—I'm not a fan of it, either—but Raven said to leave them alone! They need to rest! So, don't make me out to be the bad guy, Starfire: after all, I'm not the one who left Percy and Patty under a fucking ten-ton bridge abutment!"

"You cannot blame this all on Robin!" Starfire exclaimed from the hall, making Percy's heart plummet: this was why she and he brother had been going to leave. Their worst fears were coming to pass… and the Titans were falling apart. "He was wrong to leave the twins as he did, but you cannot attribute this entire situation to one misdeed!"

_"Can't_ I?" Beast Boy hissed in a voice so cold that it nearly froze Percy's heart. "Think about it, Star: if Robin had actually stayed with the twins that night, we never would have believed they were dead. We would have known that they were badly hurt, but alive—and they would have recovered, come back to Titan's Tower, and that would have been the end of it. Instead, Robin lied to all of us while Slade manipulated everything from behind the scenes. That one 'misdeed' as you put it made all of this possible. How isn't it Robin's fault?"

"I cannot, nor will I try to exonerate Robin from all blame…" Starfire continued, speaking in a much lower, almost guarded tone of voice, "but he is not the only one at fault…"

"Don't you dare go there, Star…" Beast Boy admonished harshly.

"If the Harmony Twins had not gone looking for revenge," Starfire snapped abrasively, "they all could have defeated Slade without tearing each other to shreds!" .

"Watch it, Starfire!" Beast Boy grunted through gritted teeth, trying desperately to quiet himself. "That goes both ways: you're just lucky that Percy and Patty are better people than me."

"What is that supposed to mean, Beast Boy?" Starfire shot back, goading him to continue.

"You don't wanna know…" he growled gruffly.

"You are wrong…" the girl snapped.

"I don't think Persephone or Patrokalos would have killed Richard, Star," Beast Boy stated in a low voice. "The two of them are very strong for being so small, but they're definitely not cold-blooded killers. The two of them may have gone there intending to kill Robin—I really don't know—but neither one of them would have been able to go through with it."

"How can you be certain?" Starfire squeaked.

"If Percy or Patty wanted Richard dead, he would be by now," Beast Boy snapped. "You saw what Percy did to Slade thanks to Raven—and she did it by herself. With two words, she killed him: 'drop dead.' I think the twins wanted to teach Robin a lesson—maybe even scare him a little—but they never would have killed him. They should have… but they didn't."

"How can you say such a thing?" Starfire asked incredulously."Robin made a mistake, but—"

Persephone's eyes flew open wide and she jumped when something shattered and a roar echoed from the hallway; she bolted upright and ignored the pain in her body as she stared at the door, realizing that Beast Boy had just smashed something into splinters. She could hear him breathing heavily out in the hallway, and he seemed to be calming down a little bit, but she remained tense.

"No…" Beast Boy hissed derisively. "Robin posing as Slade's apprentice was a mistake. Robin becoming Red-X to get closer to Slade was a mistake. His approach to defeating the Brotherhood of Evil was a mistake. If those are mistakes, Star, what do you call what he did to the Harmony Twins?! You call it a mistake; I call it the act of a monster! We were a team, Starfire! The beauty of teamwork is our strength through unity; fighting for the people of the city and defending one another no matter what the cost is! When the twins needed us the most—at the most crucial point in their entire lives—Robin left that boy and girl to die alone on that bridge! For what, though?! An opportunity to catch Slade?! How is that a mistake?!"

"Beast Boy…" Starfire whimpered, bursting into tears and making Percy clutch her blanket with a sick expression.

"Just tell me one thing…" Beast Boy continued softly. "When you look at how things have gone so horribly wrong, can you look me in the eye and honestly say that you whole-heartedly trust Robin? After all of the facts have been laid out?"

A long silence ensued from the hallway.

"No… I cannot," Starfire replied dejectedly. Her love for Robin had allowed her to see passed his flaws. When the others considered him obsessive, she believed him passionate. When they had castigated him for being overbearingly strict, she praised his undying devotion and self-discipline. This time, however, was different: there was no way to misconstrue what he had done. In a moment of misplaced zealotry, he had acted villainously—jeopardizing not only his own life and safety, but that of his teammates and Jump City as well. "I do have one question though, Beast Boy…"

"What is it?" he asked.

"Where do we go from here?" Starfire asked in a small voice.

Percy scrambled out of the infirmary bed, ripping the needles out of her arm and heeling herself as the blood welled up quick and dark. With jerky movements, she stumbled towards the door and threw it open with a bang, causing her friends to jump in surprise. Before Beast Boy or Starfire could speak another word, the blonde girl dove into the changeling's chest and hugged him so tightly that he had trouble breathing.

"Starfire," Persephone barked, making the startled redhead jump.

"P-Percy, yes?" the girl squeaked, looking alarmed.

"You're not going anywhere from here," the blonde girl stated simply, relaxing as she held her pointed ear against Beast Boy's chest and listened to his heart. "This team is going to stay together no matter what it takes. Robin was wrong… very wrong… but Patty and I are angels: according to the bible, we're supposed to be creatures who were meant to forgive other people and salvage them from their sins. I don't know if Patty and I are angels like that, but I do know one thing: we've forgiven him… and we want the team to stay together. Please, don't let the Titans fall ap—"

Her words were cut off by a fanged mouth being crushed against her own.

Percy's eyes went wide and she went rigid… but then she melted like a stick of butter.

"Friend Percy," Starfire peeped, lifting her eyes to the ceiling as her tan face turned bright red, "you are lacking the clothing."

"Eh?" the blonde girl asked, blinking a few times before she looked down and saw that she was, in fact, stark naked; the girl instantly let out a shriek and bolted back into the infirmary, slamming the door shut as the sound of uproarious laughter echoed from the other side. She covered her face with both hands before bolting for the bed and covering up.

"Dude!" Beast Boy howled, laughing loudly until Starfire joined in. "I didn't even notice!"

"GOOD!" the girl shrieked, covering her face.

"What are you screaming about?" Patty groaned from behind the curtain. "Ow… ow, ow, ow, ow! I feel like I got hit by a truck! Again!"

"I hear ya," Percy sighed.

As Starfire and Beast Boy entered the infirmary room, the redhead's face immediately brightened and a wide, jubilant smile stretched across the princess's countenance. With a gleeful cry, she dashed to Percy's bedside and threw her arms around her neck, wrapping the tiny girl in an asphyxiating embrace. Then she did the same to Patty, hovering off the ground before she returned to squeezing the living daylights out of Percy.

The girl flailed her skinny arms in dismay.

The blonde boy, on the other hand, looked rather dazed.

"Oh, friends!" she exclaimed, her glee ardent and pure. "I feared I would never see you again!"

"It's great to see you, too, Starfire…" Percy squeaked softly, wheezing as she gasped for air. "I really missed you, too, but... could you lighten… up a bit on the hug? I can't…. breathe…! Need oxygen over here!"

The alien girl immediately released her, but Starfire's face turned red as tears of utter elation rippled in her eyes.

Percy took a few deep breaths—practically panting—as she allowed herself to recover from her overenthusiastic and well-intentioned greeting. As soon as Starfire stepped aside, Cyborg and Beast Boy approached her: the metal man's visage was a blank slate; outwardly, no emotion seemed to carry favor over the looked exhausted: his human eye was bloodshot, surrounded by a deep, dark circle which augmented the effect. Even his steps, which were normally nimble, were heavy and laborious. For a moment, he stood between the beds the twins were lying on, staring fixedly at the girl before looking at the boy. Then—without a word—he pulled them both into a hug and practically crushed them to death: their eyes popped open wide for a moment in shock before they slowly relaxed in his grip and held onto him tightly.

"Percy… Patty…" he stated breathlessly once he pulled away, trying to hold himself together. "I can't believe you're both alive and here right now… it seems like a miracle. You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

"Maybe it is a miracle," Patty muttered, shaking his head. "We're being crushed to death by _hugs!"_

"Shut up," Percy scolded happily, blushing crimson as she looked at her three friends: even though it had only been a few weeks since they had last seen one another, the underlying circumstances behind their reunion had made it infinitely blissful and emotional. They'd believed the twins to be dead—nothing but a memory—and the twins had believed they had been better off remaining thus: both assumptions had been wrong. Beast Boy walked over to her and flicked her on the forehead before bringing his face close, glaring into her eyes with his emerald orbs.

She stared back until he kissed her again, flat on the mouth.

"You ever scare me like that again," he snorted amusedly, "and I will personally make you my tofu slave."

"Yeah, it's great to see you, too, " Patty snickered, hugging him when he pulled away from his sister.

"After that most unpleasant evening," Starfire recollected, her voice wavering. "We lost everything. It was like… all of the joy had been torn from our lives. Like the world had been painted in shades of gray."

"She's right," Beast Boy stated, nodding fervently in agreement.

"Yeah," Cyborg chuckled, booming voice filling the diminutive domicile. "The entire time we thought you were dead, I kept thinking, 'What could I have done differently? What could I have done to save them?' I couldn't think of anything else. I couldn't eat… I couldn't sleep… I just kept running the battle through my mind over and over again. It was terrible, guys."

"There was nothing you could have done for us: we made a choice," Patty stated firmly. "When Cinderblock threw that semi-truck at those people, we knew what the consequences would be. No one and nothing could have changed that."

"Perhaps not…" Starfire stepped forward, her eyes firmly set upon the blonde boy's face. Her carefree, affable demeanor had hardened into indomitable, righteous resolve. Her tone—once melodious—was now impassioned. "However, Robin could have stayed with you—he should have stayed with you, and he did not. He left you behind. There may have been no way to prevent your injuries, but—if you had recovered at the Tower—so many hardships could have been avoided thus."

"And let's not forget that Robin's little secret almost cost everyone in Jump City their lives…" Cyborg hissed, denouncing the Boy Wonder's wanton disregard for probity. "Slade was able to put the pieces together and use it all against us. He deceived us with a diversion and manipulated you, Percy, and Robin into fighting one another."

The twins sighed heavily, closing their eyes: they couldn't bear to look at their family.

Internally, they felt terrible: the two of them remembered—with regret—how they felt upon seeing Robin and had known that part of them had wanted to make Robin suffer; to make him experience, in some way, the pain they had endured. The twins had delighted in sinking their swords into the Boy Wonder's flesh and had savored every yelp, moan, and whimper.

They had come within a hair's breath of killing him—and he'd only survived thanks to the words of their father.

_"You are my Legacy: never forget that."_

"How… is Robin…doing?" Persephone asked in a strangled voice.

Cyborg's eyes inadvertently traveled to Starfire, who reluctantly shook herself from her thoughts.

"Robin is doing well, all things considered," the girl said promptly; while she comported herself with dignity, internally she was at war with herself. Her feelings for Robin were strong and she wanted to forgive his transgressions, yet as she looked upon the twins, everything she believed became mired in uncertainty. "He is… still unconscious, but he is stable. He was most fortunate that his vital organs were not damaged."

"He's not fortunate, Star!" Cyborg blurted out. "He owes the twins his life!"

"No, Cy…" Percy said gently, shaking her head in disagreement. "We're ashamed of how we acted."

"When we saw him at the Jump City National Bank, we couldn't control ourselves," Patrokalos hesitantly explained. "We heard him talking to Slade and he'd said that we were 'beyond saving.' Percy and I… lost control of ourselves and gave into our anger, so instead of taking Slade down as we'd planned, we actually ended up almost killing Robin and dooming the entire city."

"But you two stopped Slade!" Cyborg laughed, beaming as he stood up and walked toward the window. "You actually saved the city, guys! Once word got out about Slade's plan and all you did to stop it, people have been gathering in front of the Tower to keep vigil—keeping you in their thoughts and prayers! It's a gesture of appreciation for all you have done! You're ashamed? Get outta here! You're the only reason anyone survived!"

"But… that still doesn't change what we did," Percy reasoned, gazing up at Cyborg contritely as she tried to convince him of their guilt. "Nothing can be done to change what happened to us: Robin made his choice that night. He's done everything he can to try to make up for it and to make thing right. In the end, we stopped Slade instead of killing each other."

"When all was said and done," Patty sighed, "our goal was the same, and we both paid a price to achieve it."

"What do you mean? What 'price?'" Starfire asked, a quizzical expression upon her face.

"We're leaving the Titans," Persephone explained, looking away when their friends let out cries of frantic protest.

"NO! This just can't be happening!" Beast Boy squawked, pulling at his hair. "We just got you guys back! Don't leave us again!"

"Please, you guys—listen to me!" Percy squeaked. "We didn't get a chance to say goodbye before! There was so much we wanted to say, so much we left unsaid, that it consumed our thoughts!"

"We don't want to leave anything unsaid this time around!" Patrokalos added. "Plus, it's not like this is permanent."

"You're right," a hoarse voice rasped, making the boy's blue eyes light up with joy and fright at the same time, "because if you even _think _about making it a permanent separation, I will strap you down to that bed and _keep_ you there for the rest of your life, Patrokalos D'Andesyrius."

"Raven!" the boy squealed, bolting upright and looking at the girl as she entered the room, one arm wrapped tightly around her abdomen as she hobbled forward. "Are you still hurting…? Do you want me to heal you?! I have some energy left, so maybe I can—"

"Shut up," Raven snapped, stumbling forward and crashing into the bed; Patty blinked when she crashed into him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder and hugging him tightly. "Just shut up… I… don't want you to ever leave again, but I understand your reasons for giving us some space. Yet… the one thing I've regretted not saying to you before the accident has shredded my insides and made me lose all semblance of control over my mind."

"What is it?" Patty stammered, looking at his other friends with uncertain blue eyes.

"I love you," the empath deadpanned, pulling away and crushing the boy's lips to her own. Percy watched with a huge grin on her face as Patrokalos's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates before going half-lidded in a goofy manner and crossing slightly. She giggled at the sight before she turned away, finding the expression a little odd since they practically shared the same face. When Raven pulled away, the blonde boy looked her in the eyes and smiled so softly that she blinked.

"My heart was yours from the moment I saw you," he whispered, smirking even as tears slid down his cheeks. "Love ya, Raven."

"Don't go," Raven whispered, hugging him again. "Please, don't go, Patty…"

"No tears, Rae Rae," Patrokalos stated simply, flashing her a devious grin. "We're going to be leaving for a few years, but so what? We'll definitely come back… and we'll keep in touch with you, but there are things my sister and I want to do."

"How many years?" Starfire whimpered, rubbing her eyes.

"Not too many," Patty admitted. "Maybe till we're both nineteen or twenty, and that's relatively four years away

"Four years?" Cyborg asked, sighing in relief. "I thought you were gonna say eight or nine. Thank god."

"Beast Boy," Persephone chirped, smiling at the changeling.

"Raven," Patrokalos trilled, grinning at the Empath.

When the two Titans looked at their beaus, the twins grinned mischievously.

"Don't date anyone else until we come back," they chided at the same time.

**TXXXXXT**

Nearly a week later, the Titans had informed Terra of everything that had happened: the girl had literally flown all the way to Jump City using two rocks that she could easily hold on to the entire time. The moment she'd seen her siblings lying in the infirmary, the blonde girl had burst into tears and darted over to them: the twins had been jerked out of bed and swung in circles by their elder sister, but unfortunately, today was the day the twins were leaving the tower again. For the second time in so many years, the twins were standing on the roof of Titans Tower with a bag over her shoulder.

This time, however, Terra was standing beside the other five Titans.

Robin had recovered for the most part thanks to the twins, and he was adamant about them not leaving.

His teammates no longer glared, but Beast Boy was refusing to talk to him and Starfire was keeping things level.

"Percy, Patty," Robin pleaded, face pale and distressed, "please, don't leave us."

"We're sorry, Robin," Persephone sighed, giving him a little shrug.

"We just have to do this," Patrokalos murmured, giving him a knowing look. "Right now, it's just... time. We need you to stay here and make sure that we have a home to come back to, though, because mark my words: this isn't a permanent separation.

"We need to go someplace... else," Percy said frankly. "We need to find our own ways of controlling our minds. Face it guys, we're... dangerous."

"We can help you," Starfire blurted out.

"You already have, in more ways than you'll ever know," Persephone stated, then stopped and looked over at Beast Boy: he wasn't looking at her.

"Yeah," Patty sighed, smirking at the sky. "This should be good."

"I'll be right back," Percy said to the Titans, taking the changeling's gloved hand and moving to the edge of the roof.

"What are you doing?" Beast Boy inquired, folding his arms and looking down at her with a frown.

"Don't," the girl said sternly, looking up at him with furrowed brows.

"Don't what?" he grumbled, glaring at her.

"Pout," she grumbled back. "Big scary broody grumpy face Garfield."

"Very funny," he snorted, ears drooping.

"No, it really wasn't," Persephone deadpanned. "Sorry, that was some of my worst work. I'll have to take you up on that offer to get some joke tips when I come back."

Beast Boy laughed before he could stop himself, and Percy smiled.

"There you are," she giggled quietly, blushing when he pulled her to his chest in a fierce hug. "Good morning, Sunshine."

"I'll-" he began.

"No, you won't come with me," Percy snorted, cutting the changeling off: he held her at arm's length and frowned at her, but she continued, unperturbed. "You've got a good thing going here in Jump City. You could train yourself up and kick anybody's butt! You could be totally amazing!"

Jase pretended to think about it.

"Okay... maybe not that," Percy added as an afterthought.

He smiled again and the blonde girl kissed him: it was very short and quick, like it was something she did every day.

"Love you," Beast Boy sighed, hugging her again. "So freaking much."

"I need to say goodbye," she said quietly.

Beast Boy glanced at the rest of the Titans: Patrokalos was conversing with Raven, but the way her head snapped up kind of surprised him. Her eyes were large and, if he didn't know better, they were sparkling.

"Yeah, you do," the changeling consented.

"I thought so," Persephone replied, moving forward and stopping in front of Cyborg; she drew herself up to her full height and was still dwarfed by him. "I imagine if I had a big brother aside from Patty, he'd be a lot like you,"

He opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde boy beat him to the punch.

"Yes," Patrokalos deadpanned, rolling his eyes, "he _would_ be a smooth-talking half-robot with a can of whoop-ass in each fist."

"Man, you've been spending too much time with me," Cyborg laughed as he leaned down and hugged the twins close.

"You're a good man," Persephone sighed, smiling when he cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, I said _man._"

Robin and Starfire knew they were next even before the twins walked over to them.

"I don't even need to tell you, do I?" Patrokalos said simply, giving the guilty-looking boy a long stare before he eyed Starfire. "Even after everything that's happened, you two are stuck like glue: love can attach someone to you that way. I really hope you stay together, and if luck is on your side, you will."

Starfire nodded, then launched herself on the twins in a bone-crushing hug.

"Star... Don't ever change, okay?" Persephone wheezed, happily turning purple. "You're perfect as you are."

"I will try not to," Starfire replied, smiling.

Starfire finally let go, so the twins turned to Robin: they put their hands on his shoulders and looked at him carefully.

"Try not to hurt yourself, and forget about what happened between us: all is said and done, so we forgive you," Persephone said with a smile; he stuck out his hand for the twins to shake, but the two blondes grabbed him and hugged him instead. He stiffened in startled surprise, but Starfire tried to stifle a laugh. The twins finally turned and looked at Raven: her hood was up and she wasn't looking at Persephone, which made the girl frown a little.

"Raven..." Percy murmured, placing her hands on her shoulders to get her attention; Raven glared at her, but the blonde rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend to be mad at me, girl: I know when you're lying. I just... want to thank you. Patty and I have changed so much since we became Titans... and a lot of it is thanks to you. I always wanted a sister as a kid, and I'm really glad I found one. And yes: I already know what he said."

Raven bit her lip, and the twins could see that she was fighting with her emotions.

"Don't be afraid of your inner demons, Raven," Patrokalos continued quietly, finishing his sister's words. "When the two of us look at you, we don't see darkness. We don't see the demonic daughter of Trigon, we see an amazing girl with a best friend or two, a great big brother, and a weirdo who cares about her more than anything... except for my sister, which is awkward. You've got a good thing going for you."

"I'll miss you," the empath muttered.

"We'll miss you too," the twins stated simultaneously, then addressed the rest of the Titans as their sister smiled sadly. "We love you guys. You're the second true family we've ever really known, and we're utterly grateful for that. You've taught us so much, and we hope that maybe we taught you something too."

"Don't be stupid," Raven said with a smile. "You two taught us how to live."

"Here," Robin said quickly, offering their communicators and pressing their newly repaired Titan equipment into their hands.

"No... we can't take the communicators," Percy said quietly. "We're not ready to be Titans anymore. Look out for us, though: we'll be back someday."

Clasping their hands, the twins let their wings erupt in a spray of fire and flapped, lifting a few feet off the ground.

"Bye," they said simply.

The Teen Titans stood in a line on the roof of their home, a tower in the shape of a 'T', and watched Patrokalos and Persephone D'Andesyrius fade into the distance.

Percy and Patty, the Harmony Twins, were gone.

_Maybe Starfire was right, _Persephone told her brother._ Maybe we do understand life a little better than everyone else. It's just because the world looks different to us: we look at the same things as everyone else, but we see something different._

_Maybe if everyone tried,_ Patrokalos replied,_ just once or twice, to see something they don't usually see, we could start to see in living color for the first time._

_Everyone in existence has a_ voice, Persephone laughed silently, flapping above the ocean,_ and everyone, deep down, wants that voice to be heard. So maybe if we all stop and listen to everyone else, we could start to improve._

_And maybe,_ Patrokalos chuckled back,_ if we all just take a moment to stop and look around, we can change the world._

_Some people try, some people fail, _Persephone pondered,_ and sometimes, our lives are shattered by things we don't know and don't understand._

_But after it's all over and done with, the storm passes on, _Patrokalos pointed out, hand tightening on his twin sister's._ When the skies are clear, we begin to rebuild. That's when life is supposed to return to normal. It never really does, but we tell ourselves it will. And that's how we get by, day by day. We tell ourselves little lies in hopes that they will become true. Maybe someday, they will. But it all depends on the choices we make._

_Every person on this earth has a_ future, Persephone sighed, sharing a look with her brother and smiling as her blue eyes flared gold,_ and these futures are decided by a thousand tiny decisions we make every day. Sure, they seem insignificant at the time, but after a while, they build up and make us who we are. A thousand paths lie before us, and the smallest thought or feeling will send us careening down one of many._

_This is how we learn, _Patrokalos murmured, returning the smile_  
_

_This is how we love, _Persephone corrected._  
_

_This is how we live, _Patrokalos countered, shaking his head in amusement._ You little nerd.  
_

_Nerd or not, this is our_ story, Persephone laughed, slugging her brother and darting above the clouds when he tried to smack her,_ and it's only just begun._


	41. Epilogue: Trouble Returns in Pairs

**Epilogue: Trouble Returns in Pairs**

"Guys?" Raven called as she walked into the main room: the other five Titans turned and looked at her. The team had changed a lot in the five years since the twins had left. They were all in their early twenties, and they were no longer the Teen Titans; they were just the Titans.

Robin had gotten much taller: he wore a uniform of black with a blue bird emblazoned across the chest. His hair was growing out, hanging near his shoulders, but he kept it in a ponytail. He was formally called Nightwing, now, but the team still called him Robin.

Starfire had barely changed: she had grown up quite a bit physically, but she was still lighthearted and joyous, and still wore plenty of purple. She and Robin had been married for just over a year, and the couple had been quite sad that the twins hadn't come to their wedding: however, they hadn't been surprised since they actually had no idea where they were and therefore no idea where to send the invitations. Raven had sensed familiar auras somewhere in the area for a minute or two, but it had been drowned out by Starfire's insane happiness and Robin's excitement.

Cyborg could have sworn he saw a strange young man and woman at the back of the sanctuary for just a moment.

Beast Boy, on the other hand, had grown by a _lot:_ he was about as tall as Cyborg now, and he had fur-like sideburns and a horse-like mane that stretched down his back, which had come from him fusing with his 'inner beast' when he'd turned seventeen years old. Regardless of his masculine looks, he was still just green and mischievous as ever. He had moved on from his purple attire, leaving the Doom Patrol behind him and adopting a new red and white uniform, and although he was now known publicly as the Changeling, the team still called him BB.

Cyborg, if possible, had gotten even more imposing: his human half had kept growing from his teenage years, and he'd modified his robot half to match. He had mellowed a lot, but he still couldn't resist an eating contest or a bout of video games. Raven had matured and grown as well, though she looked to be the most unchanged out of all of them: her hair was long, and she wore a white cloak over her black uniform. She remained quiet and understated, but anyone who knew her could tell that she was happy.

"What is it, Raven?" Robin asked.

"I'm not sure," she replied slowly, eyes sparkling in an odd way as she shared a look with Beast Boy; he waggled his eyebrows knowingly and patted his pocket with a wink. "Something... I think we should head to the city."

The Titans didn't argue: they all piled into the T-Car and sped off into the heart of the City, but Raven gazed pensively out the window.

"We're close, so park here," the empath ordered, feeling her heart flip pleasantly when they'd neared the shopping district. The sidewalks were crowded with people out for lunch or a day of walking and window-shopping. Raven began moving slowly down the sidewalk with the Titans close behind her. Her dark amethyst eyes slid over the crowd, trying to find out what had been calling to her mind.

Then, she felt it: she stopped in her tracks and turned, gazing across the street. There was a young man and woman who clearly stood out of the crowd on the opposite sidewalk. They were strolling along at a leisurely pace with their hands interlaced, bouncing a little as though they were dancing to some music inside their heads: they were humming in harmony, and both of them were wearing matching outfits.

Raven tilted her head a little in bewilderment when they pulled the hoods down and looked at each other.

The woman was slim and a lot smaller than her, but even though she wasn't an inch over 5' 2", her appearance was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous; the man, on the other hand, was well over 6' 7" and his shoulders were broad and muscular. His handsome, slender jaw and masculine facial definition gave off a feeling of utter attractiveness. Their eyes were sparkling like sapphires in the light of the sun shining down from above. Long blonde hair cascaded down to their thighs, shining like iridescent fire in the midday sun as it swirled around their forms like weightless clouds of gold. The girl was wearing a hooded t-shirt, the boy was wearing a hooded tank-top, and both of them had thrown on some old jeans that looked a little too long for them... so long that the legs nearly covered their completely bare feet.

Raven's eyes widened, Beast Boy's mouth split into a predatory grin, and the rest of the Titans merely stared at them.

The two blondes stopped in their tracks, looked around for a moment before glancing at each other and looking straight at them.

Raven gasped as her gaze landed on the boy's face: she was met with a very familiar grin, and her heart flutter. The blonde girl smiled and walked across the street, pulling the mammoth boy with both hands until they finally stopped in front of the Titans.

"Hey, guys," the girl said easily, flicking her long hair over her shoulder; after a moment, the boy raised an eyebrow and folded his huge arms.

"Um, all this staring can stop anytime now," he stated, shooting a look at his sister. "After all, I finally hit my growth spurt."

"Patty," Raven said slowly, eyes glittering before she bolted forward and threw herself into his arms. "Patty... you... _grew! _Whoa, you're_ huge_!_"_

"Raven," he chuckled, cocking a thick blonde eyebrow as his extremely deep voice vibrated her body. "How've you been?"

"Not so good, actually," the empath snapped, pulling away and crossing her arms. "My boyfriend has been missing for five years!"

"Hmm," Patrokalos stated thoughtfully, scratching at his chin, "Well, I can't make up for lost time... but, will this cover it?"

And with that, the angel got down on one knee and held out a gorgeous diamond ring.

"Eek," Percy squealed, covering her mouth and running behind a tree so she could jump around excitedly and not ruin the moment.

"Rachel Roth," Patrokalos asked, laughing blue eyes staring into Raven's huge ones, "will you marry me?"

"P... Patty," Raven squeaked, raspy voice coming out insanely high as her stomach flew to the clouds: her powers lashed out and destroyed several glass windows as she squealed, "YES! Yes, I will! Or, I do, or... well, whatever you're supposed to say for an affirmative!"

With that, Patrokalos let out a booming laugh and swept her off her feet, spinning the empath around and kissing her firmly on the lips.

When Persephone squealed and bolted over to give the two of them hugs, Beast Boy slowly walked over and stared her in the eyes.

And got down on one knee.

"Persephone D'Andesyrius," the Changeling stated in a purring voice, "will you marry me?"

"Of course I will," the girl squeaked, eyes shining with tears before she glomped the poor guy and kissed him on the mouth. "I love you, Garfield!"

"Missed you," he chuckled, hugging the blonde girl tightly. "When did you get so pretty?"

"I dunno," the girl mumbled into his neck. "I don't feel any different, aside from getting past the puberty stage."

"Welcome home, Harmony Twins," Cyborg chuckled, grinning broadly.

The twins looked over Raven's shoulder at the rest of the Titans, smiling at them.

"So, who are you people and what have you done with the Teen Titans?" Percy and Patty asked with a synchronized smirk: aside from the difference in their masculine and feminine traits, they still had the habit of doing the same thing at the same time. It was even more profound since they looked less alike than ever before. Starfire let out a shriek of laughter and launched herself forward, grabbing the twins in a hug that was noticeably less bone-crushing than they remembered. The two of them pulled back from her, confused, but Starfire just smiled and waited for them to notice. When they did, Percy's eyes went wide and Patty whistled in amazement: they looked between Robin and Starfire quickly, two enormous smiles spreading across their faces.

"Oh my god!" Percy finally shrieked, pulling the alien girl into another hug. "Oh my _god!_ Star, look at you! This is just so cool!"

"How far along are you?" Patrokalos asked, chuckling in a way that seemed familiar... aside from the difference in his voice.

"Seven months," Starfire laughed, overjoyed by their reaction.

"Yep, a little girl," Robin said quietly, beaming at them.

"A girl?" Patrokalos chuckled, pulling back and looking at them. "Coming from you two, I'm fairly certain that she's going to be beautiful! And Star, wow, you look amazing... I can only tell from the side..."

"We are going to name her Saelind," Starfire said with a smile.

The twins stopped simultaneously and stared at them: their eyes went wide and they didn't seem to know what to say.

"Oh..." they mumbled at the same time, "you don't have to..."

"We were going to name her Persephone, but we figured it would be confusing if you came back," Robin added.

Persephone, quite frankly, was speechless; Patrokalos just smiled and gave Robin a hug, needing to bend down a little to do so.

"The wedding was beautiful, by the way," Persephone added mysteriously as her brother pulled away from the two of them; they looked at each other in surprise before breaking into nearly identical smiles. Patrokalos was now in the process of sizing up Cyborg.

"So, what... you're like twelve feet tall now?" he joked, punching him in the shoulder. "Sheesh, you're still taller than I am, dude."

"Yup, I'm seven feet and proud of it," Cyborg replied, placing a hand on Percy's head and crouching down. "Looks like she hasn't grown an inch."

Percy drew herself up to her full height and tossed her hair.

"I happen to have grown three inches, thank you," she sniffed, unable to restrain her grin. He bent down and wrapped her in a big metal bear hug.

"Great to have you back," he said quietly.

"Great to be back," the girl giggled, giving him a peck on the cheek.

The Harmony Twins stood facing the Titans, unable to stop smiling: Raven, a half-demon with an angel's ring on her finger; Robin with his arm around Starfire, his pregnant wife; Cyborg, an already proud uncle with a hand on the alien woman's shoulder; Beast Boy, mischievously trying to get the ring on Percy's finger without her notice... and the twins, who just kept smiling. Their long ears twitched up and wiggled in amusement, their fangs were much longer and more pronounced, they'd both matured into adults, and they were finally home.

"Here," Robin suddenly chuckled, holding something out to them: the twins looked at the offered items for a moment before taking them, smiling as though recalling a fond memory. It was their old communicators. "Those belong to you."

The twins looked up at them again.

"Well," Percy said after a while. "Looks like the Harmony Twins are back in action."

The Titans smiled. Percy and Patty clasped hands and turned toward the bay: shining in the evening sun was their home, Titans Tower. Someone suddenly tugged on Percy's long ear and she turned to find Raven smiling at her.

"Looks like you and I are going to be in-laws," the empath stated with a snicker. "Unfortunately, that also goes for Beast Boy and myself."

"You know you're happy about it," Percy laughed, hugging the pale girl and burying her face in her stomach. "I missed you so much, Raven..."

"We all missed you, too," Raven sighed, smirking down at her. "Beast Boy nearly withered away without your cooking, too."

"I'm making dinner tonight!" Percy instantly hollered.

"Okay, then come on," Robin called, waving her toward the T-car where the rest of the Titans were already headed.

"Let's go home," Raven said quietly, clasping Patty's hand and looking up at him with a ghost of a smile. "I have to start planning for the wedding."

"We _both_ need to start planning," Percy agreed, hopping up onto her fiance's broad back as he followed the Titans to the car; Beast Boy wiggled his ears and Percy wiggled her own, eliciting a laugh from each. As soon as the twins were buckled in, however, the Titans began pelting her with questions.

'Where had they been? What had they been doing? How were they? Anything big happen?

So the twins began to tell their story, but in the back of their minds, they weren't thinking about the past five years.

They were thinking about the place they would be sleeping that night. Their beds in their rooms in their Tower surrounded by their family.

Their family.

Patrokalos and Persephone D'Andesyrius smiled contentedly.

The Harmony Twins were finally home.

**The End... or is it?  
**


	42. Final Words

There might be more to this Fanfiction... a Sixth Season perhaps? I'm taking ideas for OC's so if you want me to write about your characters and include them somehow, just message me or review!


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